Paper wasp dismantles an orbweaver

Right time, right place. That was me yesterday evening. Not so for the poor.... well, let me tell you what happened....

I was headed for the Meadow to check on my antelope-horns milkweed pods.  Then -- PLOP! -- a fine-backed red paper wasp (Polistes carolina) landed right with a smack right in front of me on the street. Naturally, I crouched down for a better look. The wasp had an orbweaver in its clutches. Poor spider, but that's nature. I pulled out my phone for a couple of photos. When I realized the wasp was gnawing on the spider, I started videoing. 

Oh, my goodness, the wasp was amputating the spider's legs! This made me remember the mud-nesting wasp I found in April with an wolf spider. Its legs had been amputated. These two cases of amputation by a wasp are a first for me. And from the little I read about the red wasp, this species typically hunts caterpillars, not spiders. If you want the videos, you'll see ants carrying off the spider's legs. The last video shows the wasp flying up, up and away, carrying her victim.