# Orchid adult female bitten



## hibiscusmile (Oct 10, 2008)

I have been feeding my orchids yellow jackets and today one got bit. I did not know they could bite them. I dropped it in the container and she did not go for it, it turned around and got on her head and she was fighting to get it off with her arms and I tore the lid off and used my forcepts to grab it and only suceeded in pulling the body off, the head of the yellow jacket was still attached to the back of her neck, I had a hard time pulling it off, and fluid was coming from her neck when I finally got it off.

:mellow: Now I have to make sure I squeeze their head with the forceps to disable them before feeding to them, and I am also cutting or pulling off the stinger now too, [SIZE=14pt]I afraid now! I hope she makes it.[/SIZE]


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## kamakiri (Oct 10, 2008)

Eesh.  That's a bit of a surprise after reading about the general success with feeding bees and wasps. Good luck to her!


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## Rick (Oct 10, 2008)

They do bite. They chew things.


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## Birdfly (Oct 10, 2008)

Oh i am surprised at that, thats a first for me but like a narrator once said " nothings invulnerable in nature ".

If a mantids not hunting and a wasp is... well i guess your well aware of the rest  

I hope shes alright


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## hibiscusmile (Oct 10, 2008)

:mellow: 

OH God, it was awful, I turned around when I heard her fighting it, she was flailing her arms around her head and it was wrapped around her head, I had no idea, no idea at all, never heard of danger other than a sting. So far she is just sitting there, probably thinking, what the H e .... why did she dump that in my house


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## MantidLord (Oct 10, 2008)

hibiscusmile said:


> :mellow: OH God, it was awful, I turned around when I heard her fighting it, she was flailing her arms around her head and it was wrapped around her head, I had no idea, no idea at all, never heard of danger other than a sting. So far she is just sitting there, probably thinking, what the H e .... why did she dump that in my house


How is she now?


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## hibiscusmile (Oct 10, 2008)

Just sitting there, I try to turn their light off at 8:30 most nights... haha! like that happens, but tonight I did, so I will see how she is in the morning.


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## Frack (Oct 10, 2008)

Ouch! Hope she turns out ok.


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## darkspeed (Oct 11, 2008)

Thats just terrible Rebecca  I hope she is ok. Please keep us up to date on her condition.


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## MantidLord (Oct 11, 2008)

...Is she still alive?


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## hibiscusmile (Oct 11, 2008)

&lt;_&lt; Well she is still alive, not eating, but if my food attacked me I dare say I wouldn't either :lol: . we'll see how she is tomorrow, and I must tell you, I am catching a dozen of those devils a day and smashing their bloody heads!


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## MantidLord (Oct 11, 2008)

hibiscusmile said:


> &lt;_&lt; Well she is still alive, not eating, but if my food attacked me I dare say I wouldn't either :lol: . we'll see how she is tomorrow, and I must tell you, I am catching a dozen of those devils a day and smashing their bloody heads!


lol, you sound like me. Except I'm too afraid to catch those things.


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## OGIGA (Oct 12, 2008)

What business does a yellow jacket have in biting a mantis' head? Do yellow jackets eat mantises or something?


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## sidewinder (Oct 12, 2008)

Odds are the Yellow Jacket is a _Vespula vulgaris_, _V. germanica_ or _V. maculifrons_. These wasps have powerful and well developed mandibles which could easily damage a mantid if the wasp got ion a position to bite.

S-


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## hibiscusmile (Oct 12, 2008)

Wish I would of known that before, I will never forget how she acted.


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## sidewinder (Oct 19, 2008)

Rebecca,

It's been a week since you last post in this thread. How is your adult female _Hymenopus coronatus_ doing?

Scott


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## hibiscusmile (Oct 19, 2008)

Thanks for asking, she is great, I thought she was a gonner, but she is fine. I am freezing them of squishing their little heads now!


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## sidewinder (Oct 19, 2008)

Excellent! That's great to hear!

Scott


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