Mud Dauber Wasps in Long Island

MUD DAUBER WASPS LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK

Mud dauber wasp is the name typically given to several wasp species that construct their nests using mud. Mud daubers are long slender wasps that are approximately one inch in length. These solitary wasps typically are not aggressive but can become combative when threatened. Three species of mud dauber wasps are found on Long Island and include the organ-pipe mud dauber, black and yellow mud dauber, and the metallic blue mud dauber.

MUD DAUBER WASP NESTS & LIFE CYCLE, NASSAU COUNTY, NY

Mud daubers construct nests using mud as their building material. The organ pipe mud dauber builds nests in the shape of a cylindrical tube resembling a pan flute or organ pipe. The black and yellow mud dauber's nest is a simple, one cell, urn-shaped nest, which may contain up to twenty-five vertically arranged, individual cylindrical mud cells plastered over with mud to form a smooth mud nest. The black and yellow mud dauber wasp nest can reach a size equal to, or greater than, the size of a human fist. Metallic blue mud daubers do not build their own mud nest but instead use the black, and yellow mud dauber's abandoned nests. Mud daubers will generally construct their nests in tree hollows, the underside of bridges, under the eaves of houses, on garages, sheds, barns, or on a smooth vertical surface that offers shade and protection from the rain. Unlike social wasps, mud daubers will inhabit the same nest year after year. Compared to other wasps, they are unique in that the male organ pipe mud daubers will guard their nest's entrance. Adult mud daubers of all species feed on flower nectar and provision their nests with paralyzed spiders, which serve as food for their young. Each cell within a tube of the wasp's nest is packed with paralyzed spiders and a single egg. When the cell is full of spiders, the female wasp will gather more mud to cap the cell and begin constructing the next cell. Most mud dauber nests contain from six to twenty cells. The egg will hatch, and the wasp larva will feed on the paralyzed spiders. Mud daubers are parasitoid wasps whose larvae live as parasites on other arthropods, eventually causing their hosts' death. When the larvae complete feeding, they spin a cocoon but do not pupate until the following spring. The adult wasp emerges the next year and chews its way out of the cell to start the process over again. The metallic-blue mud dauber wasp is the main predator of the black widow spider.

MUD DAUBER WASP NESTS REMOVAL - LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK

Mud dauber wasp nests can become an unsightly nuisance at your Long Island home. Therefore, you need to contact the wasp nest removal experts at Long Island Bee Removal to eliminate unwanted mud dauber wasp nests. Our pest control professionals will inspect your Nassau County property and expeditiously remove undesirable wasp nests.

MUD DAUBER WASP FACTS

Mud dauber wasps of the species Chalybion californicum are known as metallic-blue mud dauber wasps and are the black widow spider's main predator.

Mud dauber wasps pollinate wildflowers.

Mud dauber wasp stingers are in the same body part as the ovipositor, which is the needle-like tube that females use to lay their eggs. Male mud dauber wasps do not have an ovipositor and therefore cannot sting.

Mud dauber wasp adults have a life expectancy of three to six weeks.

Mud dauber wasp venom differs significantly from the venom of social wasps and bees.

Mud dauber wasps will build their nests in an aircraft's pitot tubes, which are responsible for measuring the plane's airspeed. In 1980 Florida Commuter Airlines flight 65 crashed en route to Freeport, the Bahamas, killing thirty-four passengers and the flight crew. In 1996 Birgenair flight 301, flying out of the Dominican Republic, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, killing one hundred seventy-six passengers and thirteen crew members. Both plane crashes were attributed to mud dauber wasp nests in the plane's pitot tubes.