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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Subject: Wood boring….wasp?
Location: 48108 Ann Arbor, MI
June 3, 2016 10:05 pm
Hello! These guys are making a condominium in my barn. What are they? I am in zone 6b SE Michigan.
Signature: Mary

Mason Wasp drilling nest

Dear Mary,
We embarked on a relatively lengthy internet search in an attempt to identify your Mason Wasp in the Subfamily Eumeninae, beginning with unsuccessfully scanning through all the genera on BugGuide.  According to BugGuide:  “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.”  We then found this great site, Bug of the Week run by Michael J Raupp, Ph.D. that has a wonderful posting of Mason Wasps using pre-existing cavities.  At last we found a very similar looking individual identified as being in the genus Symmorphus on Bug Eric, the awesome site run by Eric Eaton.  An image on BugGuide of Symmorphus canadensis looks very close to your species, but there is no indication that the females will excavate a nest if they cannot locate a pre-existing cavity.  We will contact Eric Eaton to get his opinion.  We suppose these beams may have been infested with some other boring insect and the holes were quickly appropriated by the Mason Wasps.

Mason Wasp Nests

Oh thank you!
There’s a lot of them. They go into the holes, also.

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Subject: Whats this bug?
Location: 26.036731ºS, 27.698263ºE
January 12, 2016 3:13 am
I’m from South Africa and often see this wasp-like bug this time of year, mostly in the shady part of the garden.
I can, however, not seem to find out what it is and would appreciate you assistance.
Thank you
Signature: Garfield Krige

Mason Wasp

Dear Garfield,
This identification proved a bit challenging for us, but we believe we have correctly identified your wasp as Synagris mirabilis on iSpot.  It is called a Paper Wasp on Nature’s World of Wonder, but North American Paper Wasps are in the subfamily Polistinae, and your individual is in the subfamily Eumeninae, the Potter and Mason Wasps, so we are referring to your individual by the common name Mason Wasp.

Dear DAniel,
MANY thanks for your quick response – we really appreciate it. And what an interesting insect it turned out to be! I (I am Garfield’s wife) do a monthly info letter as we live in the Cradle of Humankind – which is a UNESCO world heritage site, and I try and get people more interested and aware of conservation, plants, insects and animals on our Estate and in the area.
Insects fascinate me, so in one of my letters I have written on the Rhino bug and once on the praying mantis etc. etc. I can’t ever write too much as not everyone wants to read long letters (people are lazy!) and so I try to keep it short-ish!
When we moved out here (it is outside of town) we noticed how many interesting species of plants (some rare) and other forms of life we have and so I decided in stead of looking things up and keep some sort of record just for us, I wanted to share with the people on our Estate as well. So I first started the monthly letter and a couple of months later the website. The website (juuuust in case you feel like having a sneak peek!) is www.sterkfonteincountryestates.org.za and all the letters are under Downloads. It is a big job, I have to read up a lot (I am no scientist) and double check things and so on.
Anyway, enough of me, thanks for a great and interesting website, you really helped us out and now I can write in the Feb issue of my letter about this wasp!
Kind regards,
Elmarie Krige

Thanks for the response and link Elmarie.  I did a quick peek at your site and I checked out the Invasive Plant Species page.  I am about to head to our local Moon Canyon Park to remove invasive Castor Beans.  Invasive species are a tremendous problem in open spaces that are designed to preserve local flora and fauna.

Daniel,
Over here we have the DREADED Pop Pom weed which is a HUUUUGE problem in South Africa. It takes over valuable land and is extremely difficult to get rid of. Not much done from givernment side…things are sliding, what can one say. Anyway be sure to have a free stay with us should you ever wish to visit South Africa! We could show you lots of interesting things in just area alone.
Kind regards,

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