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Project Noah Nature School
Sceliphron sp
Small cylindrical mud nests, each about 15 mm long. Inside one of them was a cocoon. The mud nests were baked unfortunately in a grass fire, perhaps.
Under a fallen and burnt eucalyptus log - nature reserve
These mud nests are built by female mud-dauber wasps of the SPHECIDAE family of wasps. The female wasp then stores in the nest paralysed spiders that will be food for the developing young wasp larva. She then lays an egg and seals the nest. When the larva hatches, it will feed on the stored but still live spiders. The wasp larva then pupates within the nest and emerges as an adult some time later.
Spotted on Sep 11, 2013
Submitted on Sep 18, 2013
2 Comments
It's sad Eva. I am sure a lot of little lives are lost with control burns that they do before Summer to reduce fuel loads. This part of the world is beautiful but scary in the summer with gum tree tops glistening with oil in the summer heat- although forest fires are natural they are so intense & damaging. I did feel very sad for these guys. I am told that they do species checks before control burns but a lot of invertebrate life is destroyed.
Very cool. Too bad they baked though.