"John McGaw" wrote in message
.. .
hubops wrote:
perhaps a potter wasp ?
John T.



On Sun, 17 Aug 2008 10:51:43 -0400, John McGaw
wrote:

I was out picking the day's crop of cherry tomatoes from my sole
surviving vine (a long sad story) and spotted a miniature mud structure
attached to the underside of one leaf. Overall the structure looks to be
18-20mm long and the opening is certainly no more than 2mm. Appearance
is that of mud and we certainly have a lot of mud dauber wasps around
here so I know what it looks like after insects have worked with it. On
the theory that many wasps parasitise harmful insects I've left this in
place. I've seen no inhabitants coming or going.

http://johnmcgaw.com/Uru/wasp_nest.jpg

Any ideas would be appreciated. I find nothing in my guide books.


I found several references to potter wasps but most of the pictures showed
a structure that looked more like a blob and this one was exquisitely
detailed, especially the opening. Later I located a picture that showed a
yellow potter wasp with a nest that looked just right. My confusion now is
how such a big wasp (listed at 25mm long) looking fairly large in the
thorax could possibly make use of that tiny opening. But based on the
picture it certainly looks like the best fit so far.

If you open the mud dome you will find a spider, worm, caterpillar, etc,
that the wasp has stung, deposited it's eggs, and sealed it in. The wasp
young will consume the host, and escape the dome.