LEAFCUTTER AND WOLF SPIDER SHARE THE SAME NEST HOLE

[Lissa]

From Laurence Sanders, Australian Native Bee Network.

FB LINK to original posting.

These incredible photos were taken by Laurence. There's a whole other world out there man knows nothing about!

Believe it or not but i witnessed a native bee and a wolf spider sharing the same nest cavity the bee would just push past the spider even when the spider entered the nest hole is this mutual symbiosis between wolf spider and Leafcutter Bee - Megachile macularis ,I observed the wolf spider eating small black red eyed flies that were entering the bees nest cavity , thus the bee benefits from this by not having parasitic flies in the nest .

[Elaine de Saxe]

Good grief! A whole other world we know little-to-nothing about. Fabulous photos. Not heard of that NB network. Good that there's more than the few I know about supporting and investigating native bees.

[Christa]

Makes you wonder who was there first, most probably the spider.  Every native insect,  whether liked or not, beneficial or not in our eyes, seems to play a part in our world.  We need them.

[Lissa]

I'd say the spider as the nest has web all around the entrance.

Makes you wonder if this is normal behaviour for these two species. Do these bees go looking for a ready made hole with a spider for company to eat the pests? What stops the spider eating the bee.

[Christa]

Maybe the bee is a lure for other insects.

[Lissa]

The shared nest is luring small black red eyed flies that were entering the bees nest cavity  for the spider to eat. Truly symbiotic.

[Elaine de Saxe]

The bee has a sting and the spider would know that?

[Lissa]

The spider has fangs and venom. If the spider knows the bee stings then the bee knows about the spider....and yet they are happily sharing the hole. Makes me think this is a fairly common (?) symbiotic relationship.

I've asked the museum if they have heard of this. Might be one of those rare things to observe that no one has seen it before or studied it.

[Phil]

Amazing. The most obvious symbiotic relationship I see in my garden is ants and aphids/scale bugs/mealy bugs unfortunately.

[Christa]

Butterfly caterpillars and ants also have a relationship. Apparently the caterpillar makes noises and this calls certain ants who come for the sugar like substance that the caterpillar exudes and in return the ants act as bodyguards. 

 

[Lissa]

The caterpillars call. That's incredible. Wouldn't it be fascinating to inhabit the world of the insect for a time. I would want to come back though!