WILDLIFE OF THE WEEK
Cuckoo Wasps: Bejeweled Interlopers
This week, my neighbor had a break-in. Mind you, not a human neighbor, but a mud-dauber wasp that had moved in nextdoor. In fact, literally right next to my door: this wasp had built her mud nest in the doorway of my apartment, where I enjoyed watching her construction process over several days.
This week, however, there was a small, beautiful intruder: A cuckoo wasp. This comparatively tiny visitor was chewing holes in my neighbor’s nest, into which she planned to lay her own eggs. The mud-dauber’s nest has a well-stocked larder of paralyzed spiders or caterpillars for her young to eat as they grow. The cuckoo wasp, as her name implies, leaves her own young to steal this food without doing any of the hunting her tiny stature probably wouldn’t allow.
I witnessed all this in my slippers after coming back from checking the mail. Just goes to show you: if you get to know your backyard nature, you don’t have to go far for safari-level wildlife sightings!
Check out the Gulo in Nature Instagram later this week for videos of the encounter.
A metallic bluish-green cuckoo wasp—that’s it’s actual name!—(Chrysis angolensis) trying to break into my neighbor’s house.
The tiny cuckoo wasp taking notice of my mud-dauber neighbor’s nest.
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The top 6 beneficial bugs for your garden
Managing your outdoor spaces to support wildlife can bring some splendid neighbors. In this latest post, discover why ground beetles, ladybugs, parasitoid wasps, and many others can be your garden’s best friends. I reveal 6 beneficial insects that eliminate pests naturally—saving you time, hassle, and exposure to harmful chemicals. Plus, learn the simple habitat changes that invite these helpful hunters to patrol your plants year-round.
NATURALIST WORD OF THE WEEK
Inquiline (adj.) - from Latin inquilinus, "lodger" or "tenant". An animal which lives in the nest, burrow, or other home of another animal, usually without doing direct harm on the resident animal.
Example - Cuckoo wasp larvae typically live as inquilines in mud dauber nests, eating food meant for the mud dauber larva.
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