Currently viewing the category: "Thread Waisted Wasps"
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Great Golden Digger Wasp Carnage

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Subject: Pumpkin-Wasp-Bee-Hornet???
Location: Belle River, Ontario, Canada
July 17, 2017 7:58 am
A most unusual hornet looking bug was in the area while I was working and I have no idea as to what it is. The main body was orange and black and legs were orange as well. It would be great to know what this is and possibly where it comes from as I have never seen anything like it in this area.
Thank you.
Signature: Jerome

Great Golden Digger Wasp

Dear Jerome,
The Great Golden Digger Wasp is a non-aggressive, solitary wasp found across North America.  They are a harmless species.  Unless you found it already dead, we are going to have to tag this as Unnecessary Carnage and we hope you will be more tolerant if you have future encounters with Great Golden Digger Wasps.

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Mud Dauber Nest

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Subject: What is this nest?
Location: Top of an outdoor window
July 9, 2017 10:34 pm
I live in Scottsdale, AZ and this nest was not here yesterday. What is it and should I leave it alone? I’m vegan so I will only rid it if it is dangerous! Thank you!
Signature: Tina

Mud Dauber Nest

Dear Tina,
This is a Mud Dauber Nest, the nest of a non-aggressive, solitary wasp, probably the Black and Yellow Mud Dauber, that is often found near sprinklers and swimming pools where it gathers mud with which to construct its nest.  It appears your nest is at the beginning stages of construction.  Eventually, the female Mud Dauber will add additional chambers and each will hold a developing larva and the paralyzed spiders that will provide its food supply.

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Grass Carrying Wasp Nest

On · Category: Crickets, Camel Crickets and Mole Crickets, Nests, Thread Waisted Wasps · 1 Comment

Subject: A nest of grasshoppers??
Location: Ontario Canada
July 8, 2017 10:30 am
We opened up our window on the second storey of our home and found this nest filled with these light green insect resembling a grasshopper. I didn’t think that they made nests so I’m not sure if my assumption is correct or how they would even get there. Any info would be really appreciated.
Signature: Thanks for any info.

Grass Carrying Wasp Nest

This is the nest of a Grass Carrying Wasp.  The female Grass Carrying Wasp constructs her nest and provisions it.  According to BugGuide:  “Larvae are fed Gryllidae (particularly tree crickets) or other Orthoptera.” 

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Mating Mud Daubers

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Subject: Mud Dauber Exhibitionists
Location: North Las Vegas NV
June 1, 2017 1:46 pm
It’s the beginning of Summer here in Las Vegas NV and as I was going back into the shop I spotted a small orgy.
Not sure what that top male thinks he’s doing, but I’m sure everyone is having a good time!
Signature: Unintentional Voyeur

Black and Yellow Mud Daubers Mating

Dear Unintentional Voyeur,
Apparently, multiple male Black and Yellow Mud Daubers competing for the same female is not unusual behavior as this image from our archives illustrates.

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Blue Mud Dauber

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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

Steel Blue Cricket Hunter

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.”

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Bug of the Month May 2017: Grass Carrying Wasps found in Home

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Subject: Is this an ichneumon wasp?
Location: Austin, TX
April 30, 2017 8:49 am
What is this bug? Finding them inside the house this spring trying to get out…hanging around the windows…do they sting/bite? Any house structure damage concerns?
Signature: Stephen

Grass Carrying Wasp

Dear Stephen,
Based on BugGuide images, we are pretty confident that this is a Grass Carrying Wasp, Isodontia mexicana.  According to BugGuide:  “Taken from the Internet Reference below (Penn State): The adult wasps emerge from their cocoons in early summer, mate, and the females locate a suitable nest site. She collects blades of grass and grass and hay stems to line the nest cavity. The wasp can be seen flying through the air with the blades trailing beneath her. She lands at the hole and enters, pulling the blade in behind her. After the nest is prepared, she hunts for tree crickets (i.e., Oecanthus sp.), captures and paralyses them with her sting, and transports them to the nest. She deposits eggs in the nest and the emerging larvae will feed on the living, but immobile crickets. When the larvae reach the appropriate size (in 4–6 days at 70–75° F.), they spin a cocoon and pupate. The adult wasps emerge in 2–3 weeks. In Pennsylvania, Isodontia mexicana typically produce two generations per year.  Remarks These wasps commonly make their nest in the narrow track found above outer windows.”  We have many more images in our archives of the nests of Grass Carrying Wasps because they are so frequently found in window tracks.  Solitary wasps are generally not aggressive, and rarely sting humans, though that possibility does exist.  Since they are harmless, and since it appears one individual in the images you attached might be dead from unnatural causes, we are tagging this submission as Unnecessary Carnage.  Because Grass Carrying Wasps are emerging from nests formed in window tracks now that spring has arrived, and because we suspect other homemakers might be experiencing similar sightings, we are tagging this posting as the Bug of the Month for May 2017.

Grass Carrying Wasp

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination