MUD DAUBER

Identification, Facts, & Control

Latin Name

family Sphecildae

Appearance

1 to 1-1/2in long all black or with little yellow

Mud Dauber
The Solitary Wasps

Mud-daubers are 1 to 1-1/2" long and had thread-like waists ending in an expanded abdomen. Mud Daubers have no socially organized life; no workers; only reproductive males and females. The females are "hunters”. They take prey for putting into the nest for their young larvae. They first kill the prey, then place it in the cell and lay an egg on top of it, and then seal the cell. The adults generally do not eat prey, but feed on honeydew, nectar, ripe fruits, and other plant liquids. In general, solitary wasps overwinter as larvae in their cells in the nest. The males and females die as winter approaches. Mud-daubers build the smallest nest of the wasp family.

Click on a species of wasps below to learn further information.

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