sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

While searching for ancient mummies in the Valley of the Kings, a new tomb was discovered....Oh wait, what I meant to say was I found several Mud Dauber nests in my storage shed and I've opened some of them up.

This one contained mummified remains of what I have no idea. To me there looks like way too many legs in there. If anyone has any ideas, please share them. The pattern in the crusted mud is from the siding board on my sheds walls.

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newtoyou Loc: Eastport

The spider provisions the cell with NUMEROUS spiders or caterpillars, depending on wasp species, before laying an egg and starting a new cell. Therefore, count the legs and divide by eight to know how many spiders it took to provision the cell. If a caterpillar, the remains look totally different. But the head capsules will be intact, usually.
Bill

EnglishBrenda Loc: Kent, England

Good work Gary.

napabob Loc: Napa CA

veddy interesting............

Mark Sturtevant Loc: Grand Blanc, MI

Coool! Was there an exit hole on this cell? For the organ pipe muddauber (this might be a different species), the adult was exit hole is a pencil diameter round hole on the side. Otherwise I don't understand why there is no remains of a pupa/cocoon.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Mark, there were many vacant cells with exit holes in them. It's amazing how perfect they bore their way out. Then there were some that just looked like a clump of mud that I could tell were not developed for some reason. Those were the ones that when I cracked them open I found the stash of insects in them.

I did find one that had a dead Mud Dauber in it but it was so fragile that it fell apart when I pulled some of the dried mud away from it.

I found a lot of remains of maggot sized insects with wispy hair tails. I actually found one cell that had live specimens of these in it when I noticed something moving when I was going to set up a shot. I've posted the critter for identification so you will see a post with a front and rear view of it highly magnified.

They must have been carried in on the insect prey that the parent Mud Dauber put in the nest for its young which ended up eating everything in there.

newtoyou Loc: Eastport

Conjectures.
The wispy tail haired are probably dermestid larva remains. They are minute upon hatching and get thru the smallest access. What may be brought in, as
Mark pointed out, are other parasites , incidentally. The remains of the wasp was most likely unable to emerge from pupation and leave due to who knows what .
Adults would be emerging in an order from TOP DOWN. Out of it's own cell. Neat round hole as stated. Some parasite wasps seem to emerge in numbers from whole nest being parasitized. I doubt wasp survival rate is very high.
The cell of spider legs should have been a successful pupation. Should be an exit hole.
Bill

newtoyou Loc: Eastport

My first reply said "the spider provisions". Should have been "wasp provisions".
Bill