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Mud Daubers
  
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COMMON NAME: Mud daubers
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Various
CLASSIORDERIFAMILY: Insecta / Hymenoptera / Spheoidae
METAMORPHOSIS: Complete
INTRODUCTION: This group of wasps gets its common name from the fact that they construct their nest of mud. They are typically nuisance pests. Mud daubers are found throughout the United States.
RECOGNITION: Adults are mostly from 1/2-1+" long, slendei; Color is generally mostly black, they may have pale markings or a metallic sheen. Wings clear or dark; front wing with 1 or 3 submarginal cells. Abdomen is very slender orpetiolate (stalked).
BIOLOGY: Mud daubers are called solitary wasps, they are not social and do not live in colonies. One type, (sphecinae mud dauber) prefers to over-winter as full-grown larvae, pupate in the spring, and emerge shortly thereafter. Females construct nests of mud. Many short mud tubes/cells, usually about 1" long, are constructed side-by-side. Each cell is provisioned with several spiders which she has paralyzed with her venom, with the first spider in the chamber having an egg deposited on it. Eventually this mass of tubes is about 3-4" in diameter and is entirely plastered with mud. The female then selects another site and starts over. A larva can complete its development in about 3 weeks, then spins a silken cocoon but doesn't pupate until the following spring. Females typically provision their cells with only one kind or group of spider.
Mud daubers do not defend their nests, and only rarely sting.
HABITS: Mud daubers typically select a sheltered site to build their mud tubes. Favorite sites include under eaves, porch ceilings, in garages and sheds left open, in barns, protected building walls, in attics, etc.
Nests typically exhibit round holes in them as the wasps emerge. This means the nest is probably old and inactive after springtime.
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