Wasp Week Day 3: Pipe Organ Mud Dauber
Pipe Organ Mud Dauber, Trypoxylon politum
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 2007-
Mud Daubers are more recognized by their nests than the wasps themselves. Above we have the nest of the aptly named “Pipe Organ” Mud Dauber. The adults are plain black and relatively non-descript for a wasp. As usually goes along with such non-descriptness, the Pipe Organ Mud Dauber is relatively harmless compared to other wasps such as yellowjackets. They avoid humans, and won’t sting unless seriously provoked (e.g. by catching one in your hand). They will build nests on human habitations. (I found this one outside the men’s room at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.) However aside from the aesthetic issues of having mud pipes on your walls, there’s little reason to remove them.
