Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 22:57:07 EDT From: CMcdon0923@aol.com To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg2855$foo@default> Subject: Re: Wasps
In a message dated 98-08-31 03:13:48 EDT, you write:
<< I have an S. alata on the deck next to a few other Sarra's. My purpurea
'Louis Burke' caught 4 wasps in 1 day and I noticed my S. alata had one
inside one of its trap too. Today, I went outside to check up on the plants
and noticed a hole in the pitcher. The wasp had eaten through the pitcher.
Was there no digestive fluid in the pitcher? >>
I have a large S. flava and alata outside on my patio here just north of
Dallas. With the extreme heat and lack of rain, we had an explosion of
grasshoppers and wasps this summer. I found several of the largest pitchers
on each eaten away around the area on the hood where the nectar was heaviest.
On one or two, they actually ate the entire hood off! I observed several
wasps crawling down into the pitchers and crawling back out, but I also had
several where holes were chewed in the sides.
They also ate some purpurea pitchers and even some traps on several VFTs. But
the worst part was when they ate the entire top off of a young S. leucophylla
pitcher. It was the first large pitcher this young plant had put up. I was
heartbroken! Then to add insult to injury, the next day they severed the
entire pitcher off, about two inches above the soil surface. Needless to say,
any wasp or grasshopper I spotted from that point on, died on the spot! To
prevent further destruction, I bought some bridal veil material and draped it
over each plant. It is sturdy enough to prevent further attacks, but still
allows the light through.
Craig McDonald
Frisco, Texas
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