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FAMILY VESPIDAE
This page contains pictures and information about Large Potter Wasps that we
found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Body length 30mm
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- This wasp is very large and with strong body. Its head, antenna and legs
are orange-yellow. Its thorax is black with orange-yellow triangle shoulder.
Its abdomen is segmented with orange-yellow and black.
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- Large Potter Wasps are common in Brisbane. We often see them searching for
caterpillars on leaves in gardens and bushes.
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- Sometimes we see them collecting mud on loose soil.
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- Developing nest with unfinished
cells
Completed nest
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- Large Potter Wasps are solitary wasps and build mud pot-shaped nests in
sheltered area. Their nests are usually attached to tree trunks or the sides
of buildings, often in small groups. Females lay an egg inside each pot cell
which she then capture caterpillars for the developing larvae to feed
on.
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- When the larvae are mature they pupate in their pot and emerge as a fully
developed adult.
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- In late winter, we noticed a partly built Large Potter Wasp nest inside a
tree hole. After weeks, the nest remain the same. We knew the wasp had stopped
building the nest for some reasons. We decided to collect the nest and see
what would come out. We carefully removed the nest from the tree hole,
however, we broke one cell. We saw a golden yellow pupa inside, 30mm in
length. The pupa turn black and dead a few days later. We check that there
should be another cell inside the nest. We keep the nest inside a covered jar.
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- After three months later, a Large Potter Wasp came out from the mud nest.
It made a hole as the exit. We kept the wasp in the jar. We fed the wasp with
some honey water. A week later, we believed no more interesting things
will be happen. We let the wasp fly away from our backyard. Of cause, we did
it with caution for we know the wasp will sting.
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- They are large wasps and of course they will sting. However, we found that
these wasps are not aggressive (some other wasp species are aggressive).
Every time the wasps flew close to us, we kept motionless and they just
circled a few times and flew away.
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A Resting Wasp
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- Interestingly, like some other wasps and bees, we found that the Large
Potter Wasp is also rest with holding stem by jaws.
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[ Up ] [ Yellow Potter Wasp ] [ Potter Wasp II ] [ Brown Potter Wasp - Delta sp. ] [ Large Potter Wasp ]
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