Mud Dauber Wasp Nest Removal Nassau County New York

Mud dauber is also known as the mud wasp and is the name generally applied to several wasps that construct their nests using mud. Mud daubers are long slender wasps that are about one inch in length. These solitary wasps are usually not aggressive but can become combative when threatened. The organ-pipe mud dauber, black and yellow mud dauber and the metallic blue mud dauber are three species of mud wasps that can be found on Long Island.

Mud Dauber Nests and Life Cycle

Mud daubers build nests using mud as their construction material. The organ pipe mud dauber constructs nests in the shape of a cylindrical tube resembling a pan flute or organ pipe. The nest of the black and yellow mud dauber is a simple, one cell, urn shaped nest, which may comprise up to twenty-five vertically arranged, individual cylindrical cells. The black and yellow mud dauber wasp nest may attain a size equal to, or larger than, the size of a human fist. Metallic blue mud daubers do not build their own mud nest but instead use the abandoned nests of the black and yellow mud dauber. Mud daubers will commonly build their nests in tree hollows, the underside of bridges, under the eaves of homes, on garages, sheds, or on a smooth vertical surface that offers shade and protection from the rain. Unlike other wasps, mud daubers will use the same nest year after year. They are unique, in comparison to other wasps, in that the male organ pipe mud daubers will guard the entrance of their nest. Adult mud daubers of all species feed on flower nectar and stock their nests with paralyzed spiders, which serve as food for their offspring. Mud daubers are parasitoid wasps, whose larvae live as parasites on other arthropods, sooner or later, causing the death of their hosts. The metallic-blue mud dauber is the primary predator of the black widow spider.

Mud Dauber Wasp Nest Removal Nassau County, New York