Subject: Pretty metallic blue insect
Location: Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland
May 27, 2017 3:56 pm
Saw this beautiful critter land on a leaf at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on Maryland’s eastern shore. Thought at first I had a six-spotted tiger beetle, but the color and the wings seem wrong for that. What do I have here?
Signature: Rob Nease
Dear Rob,
This beauty is a Thread-Waist Wasp in the family Sphecidae that is commonly called a Blue Mud Wasp or Blue Mud Dauber, Chalybion californicum. According to BugGuide: “Females construct mud nests in sheltered areas, often under the eaves of buildings, and provision them with spiders. Sometimes refurbishes the nests of other mud-daubers, such as Sceliphron.”
Hi my name Is Jodie I was just wondering if mud wasps are found in. Asutrailia can you please send me some infomation on them please i have two cats and one of my cats likes to play with insects I think he got stung by one of these
The Brisbane Insect site has information on Mud Daubers from Australia.
It’s not the write information I was after it was on the bluee green wasp