| Mud Dauber Wasp - Sceliphron caementarium Commonly known as the black and yellow mud dauber. Order Hymenoptera / Suborder Apocrita / Superfamily Sphecoidea -- sphecoid wasps / Family Sphecidae -- cicadakillers, mud daubers, sand wasps, sphecid wasps Live adult mud dauber wasps photographed at Winfield, Illinois, USA. |
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Adult mud daubers are 3/4 to 1 inch long, varying in color by species from dull black to black with bright yellow markings to iridescent blue-black. They are best identified by the long, narrow "waist," or petiole - the very thin section between the thorax and abdomen. Mud daubers are solitary wasps, with nests being constructed of mud, by individual fertilized females. The wasp provisions each cell in the mud nest with a live, paralyzed spider, upon which a single egg is laid. She then seals the cell and abandons it. Eggs hatch, and the resulting larvae feed on their food stores, growing up to one inch long. Larvae then spin cocoons and pupate within the cell. There can be several generations each year. Although these wasps are capable of stinging, they are rarely aggressive, and they do not defend their nests as do honeybees, paper wasps, or yellowjackets.. |
Black-and-Yellow Mud Dauber
 Mud pot |  Chalybion californicum |
Live adult mud daubers photographed during June - mid September. These wasps are extremely active and rarely stay in one place for more than a few seconds. I most frequently come across them hunting for prey amongst low vegetation, although I've never seen one catch anything, darn it. The terrible drought in the summer of 2005 in northern Illinois seemed to be good for these lovely creatures- I saw dozens of them, whereas they are usually quite rare. | |
