Black and yellow mud dauber

The black and yellow mud dauber, Sceliphron caementarium, is a species of sphecid wasp. There are some 30 other species of Sceliphron that occur throughout the world, though in appearance and habits they are quite similar to S. caementarium.[2]

Black and yellow mud dauber
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Sphecidae
Genus: Sceliphron
Species:
S. caementarium
Binomial name
Sceliphron caementarium
(Drury, 1773)
Synonyms[1]
  • Pelopoeus caementarium (Drury)
  • Pelopoeus caementarius (Drury)
  • Sphex caementaria Drury
  • Sphex caementarium Drury
  • Sphex caementarius Drury

Etymology

The Latin species name caementarius means mason or builder of walls.[3]

Distribution and habitat

S. caementarium is widespread in Canada, the United States, Central America, South Africa and the West Indies, and has been introduced to many Pacific Islands (including Australia, Hawaii, and Japan), Peru and Europe,[3][4] where it has become established in some countries of the Mediterranean Basin (Croatia,[5] France[5] and Corsica,[5] Italy,[5] Cyprus,[5] Malta,[6] the Canary Islands,[5] and Madeira)[5] and Austria,[5] and Ukraine.[5]

This species is found in a wide variety of habitats, such as rock ledges, man-made structures, puddles and other water edges, cypress domes, in long leaf pines (Pinus palustris), and in turkey oaks.[1][3]

Description
Female of Sceliphron caementarium feeding on nectar

Sceliphron caementarium can reach a length of 24–28 millimetres (0.94–1.10 in). Their petiole is black and is about half the length of the entire abdomen. The thorax shows various yellow markings, while the abdomen is normally black, with yellow propodeum (typical of females). The eyes are black, the antennae are black, and the legs are yellow with black trochanters and femurs. The wings are a tawny color.[3][7]

Biology

The black and yellow mud daubers are solitary parasitoid wasps that build nests out of mud. These sphecid wasps collect mud balls at puddle and pool edges for constructing nests. Frequently, nests are built in shaded areas inside formations that are sheltered from the weather or from other environmental elements. These sites may be naturally-occurring, or man-made structures. Some examples are: under and inside various types of bridges, barns, garages, open-air porches, or under housing eaves. The nests comprise up to 25 vertically arranged, individual cylindrical cells. After initial creation and covering of the clutch, this sphecid wasp uses more mud as a means covering and protecting the whole cluster of cells, thereby forming a smooth appearance, and a uniform nest. The entire nest may attain an area equal to, or larger than, the size of an average human fist.

After building a cell of the nest, the female wasp captures several spiders. The captured prey are stung and paralyzed before being placed in the nest (usually 6-15 per cell), and then a single egg is deposited on the prey within each cell. The wasp then seals the cell with a thick mud plug.[3][8] After finishing a series of cells, she leaves and does not return. The larva spins a cocoon and pupates. Eventually, the hatching larva will eat the prey and emerge from the nest.

Adults can be seen in mid-summer feeding on nectar at flowers, especially Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota), parsnips and water parsnips (Sium suave, Sium latifolium, Berula erecta).[7] They have a low reproductive rate.[9] Stings are rare due to their usually peaceful nature, however nests are aggressively defended.

A common species of cuckoo wasp, Chrysis angolensis, is frequently a cleptoparasite in Sceliphron nests, and is only one of many different insects that parasitize these mud daubers.[9]

Venom

Although they are common components of venoms, serotonin, histamine, acetylcholine,[10][11] and kinins[12] are absent from S. caementarium venom.

In 1996, Birgenair Flight 301 crashed near Puerto Rico. The most probable cause of this Boeing 757 crash was a blockage in a Pitot tube (device for air speed measurement) by a mud dauber's nest.[9][13]

  • S. caementarium collecting mud
  • S. caementarium with a load of mud, just before takeoff
  • A nest containing the cells covered with mud
  • Contents of a nest

Bibliography
  • Ascher J.S., Pickering J. (2016) Discover Life bee species guide and world checklist (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila)
  • Bohart, R.M., and A.S. Menke. 1976. Sphecid Wasps of the World: a Generic Revision. University of California Press.
  • Crawford, R.L. 1987. Spider prey of the mud-dauber, Sceliphron caementarium (Sphecidae), in Washington. Proceedings of the Washington State Entomological Society, 48: 797-800.
  • Evans, H.E., and M.J.West-Eberhard. 1970. The Wasps. University of Michigan Press.
  • Howard, L.O. 1903. The Insect Book. Doubleday.
  • Kevin M. O'Neill. 2000 - Solitary Wasps: Behavior and Natural History (Cornell Series in Arthropod Biology) - Comstock Publishing
  • Rau, Phil. 1916. The sleep of insects. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 9: 227-275.
  • Roques A., Kenis M., Lees D., Lopez-Vaamonde C., Rabitsch W., Rasplus J.-Y., Roy D. - Alien terrestrial arthropods of Europe - BioRisk 4 Special Issue
  • Ross H. Arnett - American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico - CRC Press.
  • Ross, K., and R. Matthews. 1991. The Social Biology of Wasps. Chapter 17, Evolution of Social Behavior in Sphecid Wasps, pp. 570–602.

References
  1. Hymenoptera Online (HOL)
  2. A. Ćetković, I. Radović & L. Ðorović (2004). "Further evidence of the Asian mud-daubing wasps in Europe (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae)". Entomological Science. 7 (3): 225–229. doi:10.1111/j.1479-8298.2004.00067.x.
  3. Bugguide
  4. "Mud dauber wasp". Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia.
  5. "Sceliphron caementarium (Drury, 1770)". Fauna Europaea. 2017-06-16. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  6. Cassar, Thomas; Mifsud, David (2020-10-30). "The introduction and establishment of Sceliphron caementarium (Drury, 1773) (Hymenoptera, Sphecidae) in Malta (Central Mediterranean)". Journal of Hymenoptera Research. Pensoft Publishers. 79: 163–168. doi:10.3897/jhr.79.58659. ISSN 1314-2607.
  7. Nature Search
  8. Milne, Lorus; Milne, Margery (August 2003) [Originally Published October 1st 1980]. Field Guide to Insects & Spiders. New York: Alfred A Knopf, Inc. pp. 844–845. ISBN 0-394-50763-0.
  9. L. Kulzer (1996). "The Black & Yellow Mud Dauber". Scarabogram. 195: 2–3.
  10. O'Connor, Rod; Rosenbrook Jr., Wm. (1963-09-01). "THE VENOM OF THE MUD-DAUBER WASPS: I. SCELIPHRON CAEMENTARIUM: PRELIMINARY SEPARATIONS AND FREE AMINO ACID CONTENT". Canadian Journal of Biochemistry and Physiology. Canadian Science Publishing. 41 (9): 1943–1948. doi:10.1139/o63-220. ISSN 0576-5544.
  11. Schmidt, J O (1982). "Biochemistry of Insect Venoms". Annual Review of Entomology. Annual Reviews. 27 (1): 339–368. doi:10.1146/annurev.en.27.010182.002011. ISSN 0066-4170.
  12. Rosenbrook Jr., William; O'Connor, Rod (1964-07-01). "THE VENOM OF THE MUD-DAUBER WASP: II. SCELIPHRON CAEMENTARIUM: PROTEIN CONTENT". Canadian Journal of Biochemistry. Canadian Science Publishing. 42 (7): 1005–1010. doi:10.1139/o64-111. ISSN 0008-4018.
  13. "Wasp's dangerous reputation belies its positive attributes". Florida Weekly. 2014-05-15. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
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