sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

I feel like Howard Carter in 1922 when he opened the tomb of King Tut. Mark suggested that I look in the Mud Dauber nests in my shed to see what I might find and sure enough I found a few of them to be quite interesting. This is the first one and I have a few more to post later.

Sadly, the pupa has been eaten by a variety of small insects. If you look close you can still see some of them that were encased with it. To the right are the remains of several mites and to the left there are the remains of several other types of insects that had fed on the Mud Dauber.

(Download)

Mark Sturtevant Loc: Grand Blanc, MI

Thank you for looking! That is a good picture on DL. The cast skins look to be of dermistid beetle larvae - the arch nemesis of insect collecters everywhere.
No idea what the story is. Maybe the occupant died. Maybe it emerged normally but the leavings were scavenged by the beetles (curses be upon them). The main object in there is a cocoon. It would have had a pupa inside.

I have never looked into mud dauber nests, but my notion is that there should be a distinct exit hole in the mud in nests where the adult wasp had vacated. I expect the nest can remain for years in a sheltered area. Occupied ones won't have an exit hole. But I have never looked at them. There can be also be drama since the wasps are parasitized by other insects and so the living occupant may not be related to the builder.

tinusbum Loc: east texas

thats a really good stack!!!!

newtoyou Loc: Eastport

I hope answering things like this do not indicate how analy I spent my life.
The organ pipe mud daubers are highly parasitized.A hole of about a mm or two in a cell means a parasite, not the mud daubers emerged.
They stock with spiders and caterpillars, so there may be parasites from these, too. Dermestes and mites are late stage feeders on the detritus.
If they can be gotten intact, bring some in. Put in a Mason jar with stocking or panty hose scrap under the rim for air and to prevent escape of the emergents. Do this with nuts and acorns for weevils, too.
Keep in mind that many wasps are egg parasites. The adults will escape thru the stocking mesh.
Bill

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Mark, this one did not have an exit hole although there were many that did so I knew that they were a successful hatch. I did find one that did not have an exit hole and it had an insect in it (dead of course) that I suspect was to be a meal for the larva.

I'm working on one tonight that I think that you will find interesting and I have some others without holes that I will open tomorrow.

EnglishBrenda Loc: Kent, England

Interesting research and pic Gary

napabob Loc: Napa CA

the worms crawl in the worms crawl out.............