Solitary Wasps

Among the solitary wasps, each species usually favors a particular type of prey. The female seals a single egg in a nest provided with paralyzed prey on which the developing larva feeds. In many species the nest is in a burrow or small hole dug by the female. The jug-shaped nests of the potter, or mason, wasps (Eumenes) of Europe and North America are made of mud and fastened to plants. Often seen under bridges and eaves are the “organ-pipe” nests of the mud-dauber wasps (Sceliphron), consisting of long, narrow, adjacent cells of mud. Other solitary wasps are the tarantula hawks (Pepsis) and cicada killers (Sphecus) of the SW United States, which hunt prey much larger than themselves.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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