It's not unusual to see tarantula hawks in the Trabuco Canyon area, but until last week I never saw one actually attack a tarantula. My 12 year old daughter Kelsi and I were hiking the Bell Ridge trail when I noticed a tarantula hawk flying close to the ground along the trail we were hiking. Knowing that these wasps have vicious stings (apparently one of the most painful stings of any insect), I waited for it to move on. Kelsi didn't seem in any hurry to hike past it anyway. I watched the wasp walk into a tarantula hole and quickly, within a few seconds, come out with a somewhat small tarantula. Being the crack photographer that I am, I aimed the camera at the wasp and started taking National Geographic quality photos. Well actually the camera was in my day pack and I was totally unprepared as usual, so I started pulling it out knowing I would need to change the lens to a macro. Kelsi started setting up the tripod while I set up the camera. Not wanting to miss the action, we both had one eye on the wasp.

Unfortunately, by the time I had the camera on the tripod, the wasp had already transported the tarantula to the other side of the trail and into the brush. I'm not used to using a macro lens on a moving subject, so I never really did get the focus where I wanted it. For some reason, it took me over a week to figure it out. This isn't a landscape shot where you have time to set up the camera. You get down on your belly and your two elbows and torso create a tripod. Next time I will get it in focus! Regardless, we did get to see the wasp drag the tarantula up and over shrub branches and eventually cache it in some leaves. It was time to continue the hike at that point, but I assume the wasp eventually took the tarantula into a hole or burrow. The tarantula hawk lays its eggs on the paralyzed tarantula so its larva has fresh food.