EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Each week a different image of our fascinating environment is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional ecologist.

 7-13 January 2008

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Potter Wasp at the Pond

Potter Wasp (Parancistrocerus sp.)
Subfamily Eumeninae, Family Vespidae
Oracle, Arizona

Credit & Copyright: Dr. Bruce G. Marcot

Explanation:   Is this wasp drinking from this small pool in a southern Arizona desert?  

Not really ... this female potter wasp -- also called mason wasp -- is gathering a drop of water to take back to the nest she is constructing.  

She will carry the water drop to the ground where she will mix it with dry soil and her saliva by using her mandibles ... and then carry the resulting wet mud to add to her pot-like nest which she is building.  

Potter wasps occur mostly throughout north temperate regions, with some 3000 species occurring globally.   

 

Next week's picture:  A Rodeo Roundup in a Bolivian Forest

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