How to Identify a Mud-Dauber

A mud-dauber is a common term used in the western and southern United States to refer to a group of wasps in the family Crabronidae or Sphecidae. It specifically includes the following three species: the organ-pipe mud-dauber (Trypoxylon politum), the black-and-yellow mud-dauber and the iridescent-blue mud-dauber (Chalybion californicum). The following steps will show how to identify a mud-dauber.

Instructions

1. Observe characteristics common to all mud-daubers. They are long, slender wasps with thread-like waists. Unlike many other types of wasps, they are solitary and use their stings only on prey.

2. Study the behavior of mud-daubers. They are so named because their nests consist of mud which is molded into place by the female's mandibles. They almost never sting in self-defense, even when thoroughly provoked. They stock the cells with a prey insect that they paralyze with the sting and lay a single egg in each cell. The larvae hatch and feed off of the prey left in the cell. The wasps emerge from the cell in their adult form.

3. Identify the organ-pipe mud-dauber by a nest that consists of a series of open cylindrical cells resembling a pipe organ. It has a solid black body and a waist that is slightly thicker than the other two species.

4. Identify the black-and-yellow mud dauber by its black body with yellow limbs. It plasters its cells over to make a smooth nest.

5. Identify the iridescent-blue mud-dauber by its metallic blue body with blue wings. It does not build a nest at all and uses the abandoned nests of other wasps.