Potter Wasp - (Eumenes fraternus)

The parasitic Potter Wasp has purple wings and get its own urn-shaped room as larvae.

Staff Writer (1/27/2014): Potter Wasps have nests that look like ceramic jugs or pots. They create these mud nests on twigs, branches or on the trunks of trees. The marble-sized nest has only one chamber, unlike the many chambers inside a honeybee hive. They are most active during the summer.

A female will lay just one egg inside the chamber and then place paralyzed caterpillars inside as well before sealing the nest at the opening. The parasitic wasp larva will eat the caterpillars before digging its way out of the chamber.

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Details of the:
Potter Wasp

Category: Bee, Ant, Wasp and Similar
Common name: Potter Wasp
Scientific Name: Eumenes fraternus

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Hymenoptera

Family: Vespidae

Genus: Eumenes

Species: fraternus

Size (Adult, Length): 9mm to 19mm (0.35in to 0.75in)

Identifying Colors: cream, black, yellow, white, purple

Additional Descriptors: skinny, iridescent, flying, stinging

North American Reach (Though Not Limited To*): Alabama; Arkansas; Connecticut; Delaware; Florida; Georgia; Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Kansas; Kentucky; Louisiana; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; Michigan; Minnesota; Mississippi; Missouri; Nebraska; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New York; North Carolina; North Dakota; Ohio; Oklahoma;Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; South Carolina; South Dakota; Tennessee; Texas; Vermont; Virginia; West Virginia; Wisconsin; Wyoming; New Brunswick; Newfoundland and Labrador; Nova Scotia; Ontario; Prince Edward Island; Quebec; Mexico

* Keep in mind that an insect's reach is not limited by lines on a map and therefore may appear in areas/regions/states beyond those listed above.

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