As well all know, nature is lit. Fortunately, humans invented the camera, which means we can capture these amazing moments in perpetuity. Take, for example, this wonderful and terrifying shot by Lior Kestenberg, showing a wasp going hell for leather with its stinger, a tarantula its target.
Posted a few days ago on Kestenberg’s Instagram account “space_invaders_macro”, the image (one of seven), tells the story of a Tarantula Hawk wasp stinging the crap out of — you guessed it — a tarantula.
Kestenberg’s photos were accompanied by the following blow-by-blow:
…having the aerial superiority, the wasp managed to deliver numerous rapid stings, without getting bitten. The wasp’s venom is considered very strong and one of the world’s most painful stings an insect can inflict.
For us, its an enormous pain. For the Tarantula it means total paralysis. Within a few seconds, our eight legged furry crawler was unable to move, yet remained fully alive… It is only now that his true nightmare begins.
The female wasp, did not hunt this spider for herself… She carried him away to a dark cave she had prepared beforehand, where the paralysed arachnid would serve as a buffet for her larva…
Yes, I think a “yikes” is appropriate here.