Mud Daubers

insects · architects · wasps

Expert mud architects. Mud daubers are long and super slender wasps, about as long as your pinky finger. The female wasps use their powerful jaws to mold mud into neat tubes and chambers, building each nest bit by bit.

Built from dirt and spit. The mud used to build nests isn't just plain earth. The wasp mixes it with saliva to create a material that hardens into a sturdy home, perfect for protecting eggs and growing babies.

Pretty chill wasps. Unlike some wasps that are quick to sting, mud daubers are usually quite calm and mind their own business. They only get grumpy if you really bother them, and actual stings are pretty rare.

Solitary homes for kids. Each mud dauber female builds her own nest alone (no colony working together like honeybees). Inside each mud chamber, she lays an egg and stocks it with food for the baby wasp to eat when it hatches.