There are three kinds of Mud Dauber Wasps. Black and yellow, Organ-pipe and Metallic blue. The one I have to show you is the Metallic-blue. They measure from 1/2" to 1" long and this one seemed to be well over an inch. They can be found in the U.S., Canada and Mexico during late spring and summer. These wasps do not live in colonies. They are loners and they build their nests using mud.
The Black and yellow and the Organ-Pipe build their own nests, but the Metallic blue's are lazy. They only uses old, abandoned nests built by the black and yellow, which is approximately the size of a fist. There are cylindrical cells inside the nest. The female will find a spider, hopefully a black widow which is their favorite and paralyze it with its stinger. She then takes each spider and places them one by one in each cell. She lays one egg on top of each spider and then seals each cell with mud. A couple of days later, the eggs hatch and each larvae has their very own fresh meal to munch on during the winter. They emerge from the nest in the spring as adults. I looked for a nest but couldn't find one. Maybe I will get lucky next year.
Thanks for stopping by!
Information Source: dengarden.com, hortnews.extension.iastate.edu
Image Source: All photos are my own.
Wow I had no idea the blue wasps done such a thing to black widows scary fascinating stuff good job @whatisnew
Isn't that something? Nature never ceases to amaze me. Thanks for your kind words @simonjay! : )
Hey, I wasn't eating during this one. Hooray!
HaHa! Good for you! : )
I can't say I have much sympathy for black widow spiders but paralysed and used as fly food....harsh!
Look who is calling the kettle black! LOL! You have gutted me with some of your stories. That is a compliment. : )
Hahaha, I take everything as a compliment m'dear unless the evidence to the contrary is overwhelming;)
I don't hear about them stinging people. By the way these are beautiful close-ups. :-)
They only sting people if you try to hurt them. Thanks so much for your kind words Mike! I sure do appreciate it. : )