Heath Potter wasp nest - Eumenes coarctatus (Linnaeus, 1758)- Family Vespidae - Σφήκες αγγειοπλάστες - Cyprus

 Body length: 9 to 15mm. (with a very narrow 1st abdominal segment).

Season April to mid-October.

The Heath Potter Wasp, is a solitary wasp.

Habitat: Sandy sites preferred, including heathland, wherever water is close by, be it a pond, stream or water logged ditch. Water is needed to bind the clay/mud to construct a pot shaped container for a nest.

After mating, the female will search for a suitable site to build her nest, once found, she will collect water in her mouth parts and clean the area to where she is able to attach the nest. Then she will continue to collect water and will visit an area of dry mud/clay, adding the water, to form a small ball of mud; which is held between her jaws and forelegs. Then flying back and forth to her pre-prepared nesting site, (Usually between 20 to 40 metres away) this procedure is repeated many times, as up to 28 small balls of clay are needed to construct her pot. The construction can take between 2 to 3 hours in favourable weather conditions; sometimes it can take up to several days for her to build, if bad weather conditions persist. When finished, she lays her egg inside, which is suspended by a fine strand of silk from the inside edge of the pot. The egg will take about three days to hatch, this is when the female wasp will then proceed to hunt for moth larvae, (caterpillars); these are paralised with her stinger and placed into the pot, until full. She then collects more water and mud, which is turned into balls, to seal the pot, before leaving the pot, it will undoubtably get several thorough checks. The Eumenes larva will consume the provided prey in about a week, if the pot was built before the mid of August here in Spain, the larva has a chance to pupate immediately and will emerge in 2 to 3 weeks’ time. Any later then there is a chance the full-grown larva will remain unchanged through the winter months and pupate the following spring. If the female has found a favourable nesting site, she will use it again and again, thus by stacking the pots, one on top of the other. This obviously saves her precious time, in seeking new nesting sites.

A female Eumenes coarctatus, will live for about two to three months, with favourable weather conditions, she would have built and provided for, as many as 25 pots in her life span.

Preferred prey collected, consists mainly of small lepidopterous larvae.

From https://www.wildlifenatural.com/Insects-in-Spain/Eumenes-coarctatus/

See also - Potter wasp - Σφήκες αγγειοπλάστες - Cyprus

Photos, Oroklini lake 2015 and Mia milia 10/7/2023 by George Konstantinou

See also 

Potter wasp - Σφήκες αγγειοπλάστες - Cyprus