Watching Insects

Potter Wasp (Eumenes sp.)
September 9, 2007

I was sitting outside eating lunch when I noticed this potter wasp had started building a nest on the railing. I took the first photo at 1:27 when the nest had a small circular rim. At 2:33, the nest was completed and the wasp laid eggs inside. The next day when I was on the deck for lunch, she showed up with a small green caterpillar and stuffed it into the nest – unfortunately, my camera was inside. I didn’t see her again, but the next day the hole in the nest had been plugged. On October 7, I noticed a small hole in the side of the nest – it appeared that a bird had raided the wasp nest.