Subject:  Possible Cuckoo Leafcutter bee?
Geographic location of the bug:  Galveston, Tx
Date: 03/11/2019
Time: 03:45 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hello,
I’m just now learning about native bees and am wondering if this bug that I took a picture of in October of 2018 could be a Slosson’s Sand-dwelling Cuckoo Leafcutter Bee. The insect was hanging out in my garden although I can’t remember the name of the plant I saw it on.
Can you help me out and let me know if it is a native bee?
Thanks Chris
How you want your letter signed:  Chris

Potter Wasp

Dear Chris,
This is not a native Bee.  It is a native Potter or Mason Wasp in the subfamily Eumeninae, the Red-marked Pachodynerus, Pachodynerus erynnis, which we identified on BugGuide.  According to BugGuide:  “Adults are nectar feeders and hunt caterpillars as food for larvae” and “Solitary. A parent wasp builds mud cells or uses empty cells of other mud-building wasp species, provisioning the nest with caterpillars. One larva per cell.”

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Subject:  Wasp
Geographic location of the bug:  Pittsburgh
Date: 08/18/2018
Time: 07:47 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hello,
I believe this is a thread waisted wasp, based on info I found on your site.  It has recently shown up in my garden!
I’m sharing this photo and just wondering if that’s what it is.
How you want your letter signed:  Urban garden gal

Potter Wasp

Dear Urban garden gal,
This is actually a Potter Wasp in the genus Eumenes, and not a Thread-Waisted Wasp as this BugGuide image illustrates.  If you hunt carefully in your garden, paying attention to bare twigs, you might locate the pot-shaped nest of the Potter Wasp.

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Subject:  solitary wasp identification
Geographic location of the bug:  Topanga Canyon, Calif 90290
Date: 08/07/2018
Time: 08:52 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Three years ago these unaggressive wasps started taking over my unoccupied  mason bee nests.  They come out in April-May and by middle of June most of the nests are plugged up.
How you want your letter signed:  John

Mason Wasp

Dear John,
The quick and easy answer is that this is a Mason Wasp in the subfamily Eumeninae, and BugGuide states:  “Most species nest in pre-existing cavities (e.g., old borings in wood, hollow stems, crevices in rocks). They are called mason wasps because they use mud (or less commonly sand) as partitions between their brood cells. Some species construct nests in the ground (e.g., all Pterocheilus, Odynerus, Euodynerus annulatus, E. auranus, E. crypticus). Some ground-nesting species build small mud turrets over the nest entrance (Odynerus dilectus, Euodynerus annulatus). ” Ancistrocerus tuberculocephalus which is pictured on BugGuide looks very similar, and of the genus contains hole nesters according to BugGuide.  We found an image on BugGuide of Euodynerus annulatus that is a near perfect match and it was found in the Los Angeles area, however BugGuide states:  “Nests in the ground. Unlike other ground-nesting Euodynerus it constructs a mud turret over the nest entrance.”  BugGuide does picture another member of the genus nesting in holes, and Eric Eaton’s blog pictures yet another member of the genus nesting in Mason Bee blocks.  So, we don’t feel confident providing you with either a species or a genus at this time, but we will continue to research this matter and we will consult with Eric Eaton to get his opinion.

In a shameless bit of self promotion, Daniel did a slide lecture on insects at The Topanga Mermaid in May 2017.

Mason Wasp

Mason Wasps

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Subject: Red Wasp in Florida
Location: St Petersburg, Florida
March 6, 2017 12:26 pm
Hi,
A friend took the attached picture near St. Petersburg, Florida. It looks like a wasp, and it’s certainly red. I know, though, that some bees look a lot like wasps.
Can you please identify the species for us? We’re both curious about it.
Thanks much.
Signature: Jay Bryant

Potter Wasp

Dear Jay,
Because of the shape and color of the wings and the way they are held, we believe this is a Paper Wasp in the genus Polistes, but we cannot locate any images on BugGuide that match the coloration on your individual.  Are there any images showing the face of this Wasp?

Potter Wasp

Hi, Daniel,
I asked my friend, Lesley Wilson, whom I have Cc’d on this message, if she had other images, and she did. I have attached all four (including a larger version of the original) as a zip file.
You mentioned that you didn’t have photos of a member of the species with this coloration. Lesley said she’d be fine with your using her images on your site, though she’d like to put her name on them first.
Thanks.
Jay Bryant

Thanks Jay,
These new images are a big help, though we still cannot provide you with a definite species identification.  Also thank Lesley Wilson for her contribution.  This is a Mason Wasp or Potter Wasp in the Subfamily Eumeninae, and the closest matches we can locate on BugGuide are Delta rendalli which is pictured on BugGuide and Zeta argillaceum which is also pictured on BugGuide.  Both species are found in Florida.

Potter Wasp

Update from the Photographer
Good afternoon, Daniel Marlos. My friend Jay Bryant submitted some of my photos of a wasp to you for identification. I’m attaching accredited copies of photos of the wasp for your website use, should you so desire. I am happy to share my photos as long as they are appropriately accredited.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Lesley Wilson

Hi Lesley,
When Jay submitted the original request, he indicated a friend took them.  Then he provided additional images at our request that led to us identifying this Mason or Potter Wasp. You are credited in the text of the posting, however I will need to remove all the images and repost them if you want your credit embedded in the images.  Please advise.
Daniel

Potter Wasp

Ed. Note:  Our staff has replaced the original images with the new images supplied by Lesley Wilson, the photographer.  Visit her FlickR site for more of Lesley’s work.

Potter Wasp

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