A wasp was caught on camera attacking and killing a baby bird
A wasp’s bites may be as bad as its sting. A paper wasp (Agelaia pallipes) has been caught on camera attacking and killing a baby bird in its nest, researchers report July 13 in Ethology. The video shows the wasp landing on the 4-day-old lined seedeater’s head while its parents were away. The wasp repeatedly bit the nestling and tore at its flesh, leaving it bloodied and mortally wounded. Other young birds in the same area of Florestal, Brazil, had similar injuries, suggesting that such attacks may be more common than expected. We tend to think that birds prey on wasps, but the opposite can happen, says Thiago Moretti, a forensic entomologist in Campinas, Brazil, who was not involved with the work. Wasps are known to visit birds’ nests to get a protein-rich snack of parasites, such as mites or fleas, that dwell on the birds, he says. The insects also...