Potters Wasp...it hatched!

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 5:40 pm

IRT this post: Mud Daubbers???

The clarity of these images are not all that well, having been shot through the lid of a plastic petri dish but one of the mud structures, the one that had not hatched out at the time of the previous post, has now produced a small wasp of about 10mm.

In the last image just below the wasp, you can see where it made its exit from the clay pot, where it was attached to the weed stem. The pots were at one time on the weed stem but one of them having since fell off, the reason for them having been moved to a petri dish for observation. Since having taken these photographs, I will of course, set the wasp free.

(Images: Canon G7 PowerShot, AUTO mode)

Planapo · Post by **Planapo** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 11:32 pm

Very interesting, Ken! Thanks for your follow-up documentation.

Cheers,
Betty

Bruce Williams · Post by **Bruce Williams** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 11:46 pm

Very satisfying conclusion to an interesting and fun project.

Bruce

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 6:01 pm

Thanks Bruce and Betty, this is the first thing I ever raised besides a little he...well you know.

Now if I can just start sequencing DNA, maybe...just maybe...

Mike B in OKlahoma · Post by **Mike B in OKlahoma** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 7:54 pm

Very cool!

(humming the theme from "Born Free"!)

jaharris1001 · Post by **jaharris1001** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 4:44 am

yes very cool Ken,, now,, what did you do with the juvenilles

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 5:21 am

Jim asked:

yes very cool Ken,, now,, what did you do with the juvenilles

After blinding it with the flash from my camera, I turned it loose to buzz off on a haphazardly course into the woods with little black spots popping up here and there in its two little compound eyes

To tell the truth I really did not expect anything to happen, because when I do stuff like this it usually sits around collecting dust and then gets thrown out. Thanks Mike and Jim

Gordon C. Snelling · Post by **Gordon C. Snelling** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 7:05 am

Very interesting. That however is not I suspect the original maker of the nest. I think it is a parasitic species, but not sure off hand just what it might be.

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 7:33 am

I did a bit of Googling, Gordon and found that most any wasp that builds a mud nest is being referred to as a "potters wasp." However I do agree with you that this may not be the wasp in question. Nearly all images of what are referred to as "potters wasps," have some yellow banding in them. This being a rather young wasp, that I have presented here, it may be that the color pigments have not manifested themselves as of yet, then again as you have mentioned and I too pretty much agree, it may be a parasitic wasp that has invaded the vessel. Whatever the species, I do know that it exited from the clay "pot." Thanks Gordon!

Gordon C. Snelling · Post by **Gordon C. Snelling** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 4:09 pm

Ken Definitely not an immature not colored up issue here. The wasps in question typically to belong to the genus Eumenes. An Id on this little fella would be interesting.

beetleman · Post by **beetleman** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 4:21 pm

WOW, some real nice detective work here people. Everyone putting there knowledge to work. I never thought of a parasite.