Potter Wasp Nest
4 September 2025

I found these potter wasp nests while pruning the plants on my balcony last September. Apparently I’m doing something right; I’ve noticed new species every year since I started planting native wildflowers around the property. Should I start logging observations?

#PenAndInk #NaturalHistoryArt #Art #PotterWasp #MasonWasp #Eumeninae #Vespid

Potter Wasp Nest
4 September 2025

Potter Wasp Nest (study in graphite)
3 September 2025

Yesterday was the first time I’ve seen potter wasp nests in my garden. These vespids can be beneficial, collecting beetle larvae and caterpillars to provision their offspring. They lay a single egg in each pot and seal the entrance.

#InkDrawing #PenAndInk #NaturalHistoryArt #PotterWasp #MasonWasp #Eumeninae #Vespid #Art

Saw this extremely convincing wasp-mimicking hoverfly, _Spilomyia_ (https://bugguide.net/node/view/3288), on the goldenrod in the garden today! Then on the way to the store saw plenty of the "model", _Ancistrocerus_ wasps (https://bugguide.net/node/view/6812), also on goldenrod.

#bugstodon #insects #wasps #flies #mimicry #Hymenoptera #Vespidae #Eumeninae #Diptera #Syrphidae #Eristalinae

This sweet girl has been the only wasp to pose for me since I've moved to Sri Lanka. She is easily the largest potter wasp (Delta pyriforme ssp. pyriforme) I've ever seen.

#SriLanka #Wasp #Eumeninae #Hymenoptera #Insect #Arthropods

One of our most attractive local potter wasps, the Toltec Potter Wasp, Parazumia tolteca. New photograph from this weekend.

#Wasps #Eumeninae #Hymenoptera #Insects