About Open Pipe Mud Daubers

Open pipe mud daubers are wasps that look for a place to hide around the home. These types of wasps like to stick around the home in order to find their favorite food – spiders. They are not aggressive like other species of wasps but they can still sting you if they feel threatened.

The open pipe mud dauber is not like other wasps. Some ways they are different include:

*The male mud daubers will stay inside the nest and defend the eggs and the female will do the hunting.

*The accommodating mud dauber will not defend the nest from a human or an animal that approaches the nest. A mud dauber will rarely sting unless they are stepped on or threatened.

The open pipe mud dauber will normally eat spiders. In order to kill a spider, the mud dauber will use a venomous sting to the spider that will paralyze it long enough for the wasp to carry it back to the nest where the entire family will feed on it. When they can’t eat spiders, they also like sweet nectar too.

Appearance

The open pipe mud dauber’s scientific name is Trypoxylon politum. They are black in color and can be one-half inch to one inch in length. Some open pipe mud daubers will have a metallic blue like appearance to their body as well as green and yellow marks. The body is long and slender and the waist of these wasps looks like they are threaded. The overall look of this type of wasp is similar to an ant with wings.

Behavior

Open pipe mud daubers are not social and like to keep to themselves. They will not thrive in a large colony so they normally build a nest that is big enough for their immediate family only. This type of mud dauber should be approached with the same caution you would give any other wasp because they do sting when they have to but it is not a normal reaction to sting just because you are close.

Life Cycle

Mud daubers go through four stages of the life cycle which include the egg, larvae, pupae, and finally the adult stage. It is normal to go through one or two generations each year. When the nest is built, the queen creates cells within the mud where she will lay one egg and add a spider that she paralyzed and if she can’t find a spider, she will find another insect to add before she seals off the cell.

Once the egg hatches, the larvae will feed off of the spider or insect. It will stay within the cell for around three weeks and then it will spin a cocoon to stay in for the winter. This stage is considered the pupae stage. While the larvae are in the cocoon, the male mud dauber will stand guard inside the nest. Once the pupae come out of the cocoon, it is considered an adult.

Habitat

The open pipe mud dauber builds a nest where it is sheltered; eaves of awnings for decks, barns, garages, sheds, or even attics if they can get to them. They choose these areas because they provide enough shelter that during rain or hot sun, they don’t get hit directly with the weather.

The female is in charge of building the nest using mud. The nest inside will feature tubes and tunnels that are twisted around. It’s not uncommon to see one mud nest built beside another.

They can also be different colors depending on the color of the mud that is used. Most of the time, a mud dauber will build a new nest however, it is also common to see them use an old nest too.

Conclusion

Mud daubers are not threatening to humans, they decrease the spider population around your home and they only want to use their stingers to paralyze the spiders they plan to eat.

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About Open Pipe Mud Daubers