Certain wasps chose
to live alone rather than in nests with others.
These anti-social wasps include mud daubers, spider
wasps and cicada killers. Some of them build small
nests on the wall of buildings while others dig
small holes in the ground. Several may create nests
near others, they do not cooperate in the effort.
The solitary wasps
often look similar to yellow jackets and other
social wasps. A few of them are metallic blue or
black in color, however. They often have long, thin
waists and may be called thread waisted wasps.
After building their
nest, the solitary wasp lays its eggs inside. They
they either kill or paralyze other insects or
spiders and put them in with the eggs. These act as
a food supply for the newly hatched young.
Although some of
these wasps such as the large sized cicada killer
may look imposing, they are generally not aggressive
and rarely sting.
