Insect Identification
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. -- John McGaw [Knoxville, TN, USA] http://johnmcgaw.com |
Insect Identification
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. |
Insect Identification
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. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaipu/195202407/ -- John McGaw [Knoxville, TN, USA] http://johnmcgaw.com |
Insect Identification
"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. |
Insect Identification
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. As others have said, it appears to be from a potter wasp, but I must comment that the nest is so very lovely, one would hate to disturb it. Ain't nature grand? Boron |
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