Mud Nest Tenant Wasp - Pison sp.

Family SPHECIDAE

This page contains pictures and information about Mud Nest Tenant Wasps that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.


Body length 15mm

This wasp is in tribe Trypoxylonini and has the typical emarginated eyes.



Dec 2008, Karawatha Forest. It seemed collecting mud for mud-cells.


On Oct 2006, we collected one mud cell, from the structure, we believed it was belonged to the Mud-Dauber Wasp. We carefully open the cell from the back side. To my surprise, there were two compartments inside, as shown in the following picture. There was one larva in each compartment. No insect or spider remains can be found. I thought Mud-Dauber Wasp cell has only one compartment.

Weeks later (15 Nov 2006) the larvae had turned into pupa, will keep look at them as see what will come out.

Graeme Cocks has recorded two Ichneumon wasps came out from a S. formosum mud cell, which the cell was also two compartmented.

Only one larva turned into pupa. The other did not turn into pupa. We might have damaged it when we open the mud cell.



On 5 Dec 2006, one wasp came out.....................................we checked the reference information and believed this wasp re-uses the empty cell of the Mud-Dauber Wasp to build its own nest cells.

Reference:
1. Insects of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, pp 991.
2. Northern Territory Insects, A Comprehensive Guide CD - Graham Brown, 2009.