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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Alien-Wasp Swarms Devouring Birds, Bugs in Hawaii


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Invasive western yellowjacket wasps in Hawaii (above, a wasp eats an unidentified insect near another wasp) are munching their way through an "astonishing diversity" of creatures, from caterpillars to ring-necked pheasants, a July 2009 study says.

The voracious wasps, which have exploded in their new habitat, can wipe out whole swaths of prey insects surrounding their nests.

Photograph courtesy Erin Wilson