'Sceliphron Curvatum' - The Mason Wasp, or Mud Dauber Wasp

This summer, I came across a very unusual insect that I had not seen before. Initially, I assumed it was some kind of fly, but after a session on 'google', I discovered that it was actually a wasp; and a rare one at that!

It originates from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and most of Asia. Outside its natural range it was found in 1979 in Austria, then in Slovenia in 1991, Italy in 1995, Switzerland in 1998, Germany in 2002 and Southern France in 2005 ... The species is now well established in Europe, but only recently identified in our area. 

It's body is black, often decorated with patterns, or stripes, depending on the family. It has two pairs of wings, but the back ones are smaller and attach to the front ones, giving the impression that it only has one pair. Like other insects, the sceliphron has three pairs of legs that often carry colored bands. The abdomen, which has the shape of a droplet, is at the end of a very thin and long waist and the antennae on its head are bent at the end.

The sceliphron mainly captures spiders that it paralyzes with the aid of a venom.......Nice!

The mason wasp, as its name implies, builds its nest with mud and saliva. It chooses a sheltered place, and builds a small nest consisting of an individual cell for each of the larvae that it will lay there. After breeding, the wasp will lay only about fifteen eggs, which means quite a lot of work for nest building and catching prey for its offspring. In the chamber, the female lays down live, but paralyzed spiders that she has captured to feed the small larvae. 

Once the egg laying is complete, it builds additional cells and its life ends. Since it will capture a large amount of spiders for its larvae, the wasps are continually active, and are very useful for controlling the spider population when it increases too much.

The sceliphrons are not dangerous for humans, and do not sting unless provoked. As its body has a few hairs, the mason wasp participates little in the pollination of flowers when it moves on them. Sadly, the adult life of the sceliphron lasts only one season.

Photographs taken with my Nikon D500 and Nikon 70-200 f4 lens

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