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A bit out of focus, the nest was not in a handy place, and the cameras screen doesn't allow to see sharpnes... But anyone willing to ID the nest?

Phew.... Where was that???

In the thatch of the toilet of our rondavel in a not to be mentioned place...

Did you SEE the wasps or was it abandoned?

I wish....
It's an old nest I think.

It is either a masonry wasp but more likely a potter wasp.

They build the nest, provision it with a paralyzed insect, and then lay an egg inside of the insect and close up the nest. When the larvae emerges, it first eats the insects, and then goes through the pupa stage, before emerging from the nest as an adult.

Masonry wasps build multi cell nests, while potter wasps build single cell nests.

And why such big opening hole, Imberbe?

Because they need to fit a nice fat worm through that hole, before they close it with mud.

Can anyone help with an ID of this wasp, seen at Grootkolk in KTP in February 2010? The wasps enjoyed our birdbath and also liked to drink from the end of the kitchen water spigot, climbing up into it.



I'm impressed by the wasp's technique here, grasping the edge of the birdbath and then hanging down to reach the water.

I am no expert, but it looks like it could be Delta emarginatum the Black Mud Wasp. They get water to make mud for their nests.

Nice pic!!! I wonder if it is a stinging wasp

That wasp is quite aggressiv and stings are very painful.

I read the other day..that if you get a sting..first thing to do is tape a penny to the area. Apparently, the copper takes away the pain...

It is one of the paper wasps.

Probably Polistes fastidiotus or one of its closely related species.