Mud dauber nests

Description:

Mud nests constructed in the sheltered overhang of wood on a fallen tree trunk.

Habitat:

Riparian woodland along Lake Lewisville.

Notes:

These are solitary wasp species, with nests constructed and provisioned by individual mated females. Eggs of mud daubers are laid singly on hosts in cells in mud nests provisioned with food, sealed and abandoned. Larvae grow up to 1 inch long and are cream-colored, legless and maggot-like. They pupate in cocoons within the cells and overwinter in nests. There can be several generations annually.