''Chalybion californicum'', the common blue mud dauber of North America, is a metallic blue species of

mud dauber Mud dauber (or "mud wasp") is a name commonly applied to a number of wasps from either the family Sphecidae or Crabronidae which build their nests from mud; this excludes members of the family Vespidae (especially the subfamily Eumeninae), which a ...

wasp first described by

Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure (; ; 27 November 1829 – 20 February 1905) was a Swiss people, Swiss mineralogist, taxonomist and entomologist specialising in studies of hymenopteroid and Polyneoptera, orthopteroid insects. Education, ca ...

in 1867. It is not normally aggressive towards humans. It is similar in shape and colour to the steel-blue cricket hunter (''

Chlorion aerarium ''Chlorion aerarium'', commonly known as the steel-blue cricket hunter, is a species of thread-waisted wasps in the family Sphecidae.Sharkey M.J. (2007). ''Phylogeny and Classification of Hymenoptera''."Phylogenetic relationships among superfamil ...

''). Like other types of wasps, males do not have an

ovipositor The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typica ...

, and therefore cannot sting. It is ranged from northern Mexico to southern Canada, including most of the United States. It has also been introduced to regions including Hawaii, Bermuda, Croatia and other European countries.

Behavior

Females can build their own nests, but often refurbish nests abandoned by other wasps and

bees Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...

, particularly those of '' Sceliphron caementarium'''', removing any spiders captured by ''S. caementarium'' and the larva, replacing it with an egg of its own and freshly caught spiders. They go through multiple generations in a year.

Interaction with other species

This species is most famous for its predation of

black widow spider ''Latrodectus'' is a broadly distributed genus of spiders with several species that are commonly known as the true widows. This group is composed of those often loosely called black widow spiders, brown widow spiders, and similar spiders. However ...

s. Adults feed on the nectar of flowers, which powers their flight. They

pollinate Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example bees, beetles or butterflies; birds ...

some common wildflowers, including ''

Berberis vulgaris ''Berberis vulgaris'', also known as common barberry, European barberry or simply barberry, is a shrub in the genus ''Berberis'' native to the Old World. It produces edible but sharply acidic berries, which people in many countries eat as a tar ...

'', ''

Daucus carota ''Daucus carota'', whose common names include wild carrot, European wild carrot, bird's nest, bishop's lace, and Queen Anne's lace (North America), is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It is native to temperate regions of the Old World ...

'', and ''

Zizia aurea ''Zizia aurea'' (golden alexanders, golden zizia) is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant of the carrot family Apiaceae. It is native to eastern Canada and the United States, from the eastern Great Plains to the Atlantic Coast. The genus is na ...

''. Larvae are fed spiders, often ''

Latrodectus mactans ''Latrodectus mactans'', known as southern black widow or simply black widow, and the shoe-button spider, is a venomous species of spider in the genus ''Latrodectus''. The females are well known for their distinctive black and red coloring and f ...

''. They prefer to hunt prey on the ground or under rocks.

References

{{Taxonbar , from=Q4930126 Sphecidae Hymenoptera of North America Insects described in 1867 Biological pest control wasps