black and yellow mud dauber

Sceliphron caementarium

Uploaded on May 27, 2009

We are watching a mother gather materials for her nest. The mud dauber builds a nest which is placed in a sheltered area. After building her nest and laying her eggs the female dies. Next spring the larva dig their way out of their mud ball called home.

www.naturebytesvideo.com

Uploaded on Aug 7, 2007

1/4 speed mudball making

Uploaded on Jun 27, 2010

This little lady has decided that my room is properly comfortable for the deposit of her zombie spider eggs. Given the fact that I love insects, especially those of the hymenoptera order, I'm gonna have no choice but to let the little lady continue with her beautiful journey of life and document as much of it as possible.

My dear friend and great scholar Dr. Alan Molumby has this to say about her: "They are amazing, aren't they. She is a mud-dauber, Scleiphron caementarium. First they build a barrel out of mud, then they fill it with paralyzed spiders, then they lay an egg on the victims and leave them to their fate. She will keep building cell after cell until something interrupts her. They hunt rather small spiders, so rarely do they get caught by their own prey. It must be a good year for mud daubers, all the rain and all."

Published on May 20, 2013

Black and Yellow Mud Dauber - Often seen collcting mud by wet puddle and moist streambanks. Seen here on a tributary of Stoney Creek, Burnaby, BC

Uploaded on Sep 6, 2008

Black and yellow mud dauber is a common name for the sphecid wasp species Sceliphron caementarium. They are solitary insects that build nests out of mud in sheltered locations, frequently on man-made structures such as bridges, barns, open porches or under the eaves of houses. These nests are not aggressively defended, and stings are rare.

The black and yellow mud dauber's nest is comprised of a series of cylindrical cells that are plastered over to form a smooth nest that may attain nearly the size of a human fist. After building a cell, the female wasp captures several spiders. The captured prey are stung and paralyzed before being placed in the nest, and then a single egg is deposited on the prey within each cell. The wasp then seals the cell with mud. After finishing a series of cells, she leaves and does not return. Eventually, the hatching larva will eat the prey and emerge from the nest.