On a Wing and a Prayer

It was not a good day to "stop and smell the roses."

A vespid wasp apparently lingered too long on a rose--perhaps dropping by for a sip of nectar or seeking unsuspecting prey. 

What it found was another predator, a praying mantis looking for breakfast.

The scenario unfolded last week in the Storer Garden at the University of California, Davis. 

The mantid grasped the wasp in its spiked forelegs and methodically began to consume it.

It bit into the head first, thorax next, and then snatched a wing.

All that was left: a wing and a prayer.