Bug Identifier
Blue mud dauber (likely)
Community identification

Blue mud dauber (likely)

Chalybion californicum

Order & Family
Hymenoptera; Sphecidae
Size
About 13–20 mm (0.5–0.8 in) long.
See this bug in the Encyclopedia

Natural Habitat

Common around buildings, gardens, wood piles, and dry, sheltered areas across much of western and central North America.

Diet & Feeding

Adults consume nectar and other sugary liquids. Females provision nests with paralyzed spiders for their larvae.

Behavior Patterns

Solitary wasps that often reuse abandoned mud-dauber nests; females carry spiders into nest cells, lay one egg, and seal each cell. They are agile flyers and usually nonaggressive toward people.

Risks & Benefits

The sting is possible but uncommon and generally limited to handling or trapping the wasp. Beneficial predators of spiders and minor pollinators; identification is tentative because the image is partly obscured.