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August 13: Shrew and yellow jackets
Aug. 13th, 2010 10:28 pmOut for a walk with the dogs in the morning, I discovered a dead shrew in the road. It was lying on its back in the dirt, no longer than my little finger. Its right front paw was curled against its chest, and its tiny sharp teeth were visible; the mouth, usually hidden on the underside of the pointed snout, was turned upward.
There was a hole in its left side above the shoulder; the left front leg was hanging aside, almost detached by whatever trauma had created the hole.
And there was the most interesting activity there: four yellow jacket wasps were crowding into the cavity in the animal's tiny chest, two at a time, pushing each other out and venturing in head-first until they were half-hidden, seeking something. Two small, shiny green flies were nearby, waiting, I suppose, until they could get access. And a number of miniscule brown fruit flies congregated on the ground near the shrew.
I just didn't know yellow jackets were carrion eaters. I usually see them on fruit. What was so interesting inside the shrew's tiny ribcage?
The dogs, usually ones to excitedly snuffle a new scent til it's exhausted, were not interested in the shrew at all. They sat in the road at the ends of their leashes, panting patiently. It was quiet and shady in the road, just some crickets chirping in the woods. At one point while I was watching the yellow jackets, something hit the hard ground nearby and rolled into my field of vision: a small acorn. Things are starting to drop from the trees. I found a muscadine the other day.
Because of this experience, I have learned a few things about the yellow jackets' feeding habits. The adults do mainly eat fruit and sugary things, as I thought. But they live communally and have larvae to feed, and the larvae eat animal protein. The adults collect the meat and chew it up for the young, and then the young secrete sugar, which the adults find delicious. Really fascinating.
There was a hole in its left side above the shoulder; the left front leg was hanging aside, almost detached by whatever trauma had created the hole.
And there was the most interesting activity there: four yellow jacket wasps were crowding into the cavity in the animal's tiny chest, two at a time, pushing each other out and venturing in head-first until they were half-hidden, seeking something. Two small, shiny green flies were nearby, waiting, I suppose, until they could get access. And a number of miniscule brown fruit flies congregated on the ground near the shrew.
I just didn't know yellow jackets were carrion eaters. I usually see them on fruit. What was so interesting inside the shrew's tiny ribcage?
The dogs, usually ones to excitedly snuffle a new scent til it's exhausted, were not interested in the shrew at all. They sat in the road at the ends of their leashes, panting patiently. It was quiet and shady in the road, just some crickets chirping in the woods. At one point while I was watching the yellow jackets, something hit the hard ground nearby and rolled into my field of vision: a small acorn. Things are starting to drop from the trees. I found a muscadine the other day.
Because of this experience, I have learned a few things about the yellow jackets' feeding habits. The adults do mainly eat fruit and sugary things, as I thought. But they live communally and have larvae to feed, and the larvae eat animal protein. The adults collect the meat and chew it up for the young, and then the young secrete sugar, which the adults find delicious. Really fascinating.