Mud Cocoons

While cleaning up some old boxes in the shed, we ran across some odd piles of rock hard mud, some already shattered. We broke open this mud clump and discovered wasp larvae inside. We suspect that at this time of year, their presence indicates they did not hatch. This type wasp is sometimes referred to as a mud dauber. The female builds the mud cocoons and lines each cell with spiders for her offspring to feed on when they emerge.