Eat Or Be Eaten!!

It's a tough, tough world in nature! Survival is dependent on many things, including food! An Eastern Forktail captured a fly for lunch in Canatara Park!

I had a crazy experience at Henderson Conservation Area on June 3rd. While watching a live teneral damselfly species, an Eastern Forktail approached, grabbed the prey and severed the wings and abdomen from the rest of the body. It carried the abdomen to another leaf where it discarded the wings and proceeded to eat it. The following sequence of pictures shows the story.

Incredible!

A (probable) Fork-tailed Bush Katydid uses its long proboscis to slurp up nutrients from bird guano deposited on a leaf.

Some ants found an unidentified insect and started carrying the parts back to their home.

A female Northern Cardinal and her mate continue to dine (or should I say, 'gorge') on the American Lady caterpillars in the garden. She is sitting in the Pearly Everlasting, which is the host plant for the butterfly.