8.19.11 Drama in the garden! A Braconid wasp injected her eggs into this Tomato Hornworm; the developed larvae spun these cocoons, attached all over the outside of the hornworm, from which they will pupate. Left alone, a Tomato Hornworm can eat its way through a lot of foliage and tomatoes in the course of its development.
The throat of the Willow Gentian in the flower bed was the hiding spot of the white goldenrod crab spider. When the moth visited the flower last night,'the spider grabbed the moth with its long front legs, injected a paralyzing poison and digestive enzymes into the moth. After the spider's enzymes have turned the insides of the insect into liquid, the spider sucks the prey dry until only the exoskeleton of the insect remains' according to Mary Holland in Naturally Curious.