The Spiriflex Mud Dauber Wasp (Sceliphron spiriflex) is a medium-sized insect in the Sphecidae family of wasps. It is a sphecid wasp.
The Spiriflex Mud Dauber Wasp has a dull black body with a long yellow waist, called a petiole. Its legs are black with yellow bands. Its antennae are black, and its wings are translucent (clear).
It grows to about 2-3 centimetres (1 inch) long.
The Spiriflex Mud Dauber Wasp is common in southern Europe and Africa. It lives in a wide range of habitats, such as grasslands, forests, gardens, and fruit orchards.
It is a solitary insect, and does not live in colonies.
The female Spiriflex Mud Dauber Wasp builds a large, multi-celled mud nest on the side of buildings, walls, rocks, tree trunks, or cliffs. She usually takes one day to build a nest.
She lays one egg in each mud cell, up to about 15 eggs. The eggs hatch into larvae (grubs) and then they metamorphose into adult wasps.
The average life span of a Spiriflex Mud Dauber Wasp is about 14 days.
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM