![]() The Asian mud dauber is a relative to the Colorado well-established black-and-yellow mud dauber (Sceliphron caementarium) and blue mud dauber (Chalybion californicum). You simply need to be the first person, at the right time, in the right place, and have some curiosity. ![]() How exactly they arrived in Colorado is anyone’s guess - packing material, shared plant material or hitchhiking in a car? I am the second person to find them in Colorado and they are now in several counties.Įric Eaton, a Colorado Springs resident and author of “The Kaufman Field Guide of North American Insects”, said that finding the Asian mud dauber was happenstance by his wife and that any gardener who wishes to “observe and record” insects in their garden could be the first to find something new. The Asian mud dauber (Sceliphron curvatum) was first found in Colorado in El Paso County in 2014 by Eric Eaton’s wife, Heidi. Hunting wasps may look fearsome, yet they rarely sting - unless of course you try to catch one and hold it in your hand. After building the nest they search for specific insects to paralyze and return to their nest to feed to their developing larvae, also called grubs. They share the same behaviors where the female works alone to build solitary nests somewhere in the yard, under or above ground, near and on structures. ![]() Hunting wasps, including the Asian mud dauber, are like many other established hunting wasps in Colorado. It is a hunting wasp, not at all like familiar social wasps we know - yellowjackets, paper wasps and hornets that build wasp colonies to raise their young. The Asian mud dauber, which I first found in my landscape in 2016, is native to Asia, India, Pakistan and Nepal and since the 1970s has been established in parts of Europe and more recently Quebec, Ohio and Michigan. Other non-native, plant-destroying pests like Japanese beetle and Emerald Ash borer first arrived in America from their native regions and then populated the eastern and mid-western parts of the United States before making it to Colorado. When I found it, I had no idea it was a newbie to the state and America. ![]() First some background.Ĭolorado has the distinction of being the first state in the country to find and identify another non-native insect - the Asian mud dauber. But what about finding a new insect that hasn’t been part of the regular crowd of pollen seekers and plant chewers? It happened not too long ago in my garden, and here’s my story. The most recognizable ones like honeybees, bumblebees, ladybugs and butterflies are the easiest to spot, so are the common pests that wreak havoc on many of my favorite plants. I have a general idea of what is out there and what they are doing, and I am happy they are part of the summer landscape. I take the darting and buzzing of flying insects in my garden almost for granted. "Oftentimes they are the most important biological control of insect pests in gardens, fields, forests, and homes.Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menu "Spiders are beneficial arthropods that survive by feeding on insects," said CSU professors F.B. Plus, these spiders are actually good for our state, so you don't have to be too afraid of them. READ: CSU Professor Reveals the Deal With NoCo's Infamous Bugs Don't worry - only two of them are dangerous. However, there are a few arachnids that call Colorado home, and our friendly entomologists at Colorado State University have conveniently compiled a list of them. We're not like Alabama, where my grandmother has an exterminator on speed dial, or Australia, where I imagine terrifying, gargantuan spiders attack people on the daily (okay, that probably doesn't happen, but you get my point). ![]() Thankfully, the Centennial State doesn't have too much of a spider problem. ![]()
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