Another Unsung Pollinator

Over the last few years I have been gaining more appreciation for pollinators and beneficial insects (and other critters) that can be found at the Genuine Faux Farm.  Yes, I've always had some appreciation for them, but I think it is safe to say that we all start out with some basic knowledge and appreciation - somehow most of us learned early that honeybees and butterflies are good.  But after that, the appreciation of the general populace for other critters is spotty, at best.

In my case, I willingly admit that my understanding and acceptance of different pollinators is an ongoing project.  It all starts with a willingness to learn about them.  It's always harder to feign indifference or outright hostility when you know more about someone or something.  And, after last year's endeavor to learn more about wasps, I find myself looking harder at the various wasp-like creatures and finding a wide range of types and temperaments.

I was doing some small-engine maintenance and I noticed this little critter fly by me with a long blade of dry grass.  It was dry grass mostly because that's all we had a little over a week ago.  So, this picture is from the days when rainfall was only a myth at the farm.

The wasp pulled the grass into the pipe and was in there for a while.  So, I thought I'd try and get a picture of it emerging.

If you look carefully, you can see it peeking out at us here.

Now, truth in advertising the FIRST picture you see in this blog is actually later than the second.  I didn't have a camera when I first noticed my little friend, so I dashed to get the camera and hoped I could catch it as it emerged and flew away from the pipe.

The next picture I took, thinking I would catch it emerging was this one.

I was a little slow.

Look carefully at this picture towards the bottom right.  You will find my little friend's head.  I actually captured it in mid-flight, but barely in the frame of the picture.  It's almost as if it were teasing me on purpose - or intended to photobomb me.

Happily, it did return and repeat the process of pulling a piece of dried grass into the tube, where it was most certainly building a nest.  Now, I have to figure out how I want to handle this bucket with pipes that I intended to recycle because I don't want to disturb the nest!

I did spend a little time looking and found out that - surprise surprise - this has been named the "Grass-Carrying Wasp" and has the scientific name Isodontia mexicana.

This particular wasp had a beautiful purple sheen to its wings and it was very industrious in building a next for its young.  It would go find a nice blade of grass, cut it off and then carry it back to the pipe.  There are some great pictures from the site I referenced above of the nest, so I suggest you take that to see more images and to learn more about them.

These wasps are not aggressive.  I suppose if you tried to hold one in your hand and keep it captive, it might feel like it had no choice but to sting.  Otherwise, it's more interested in building a nest, or finding some food, than it is in you.  Yes, sorry, it isn't all about you.

These wasps tend to hunt crickets and will visit flowering plants for nectar - making them yet another unexpected pollinator in our world.  They often show a preference for white flowers, though I know I have seen them on Goldenrod in the past.  The nectar provides energy for the female as she works to build the nest for her young.

I haven't noticed this wasp recently, so the nests must be complete.  Maybe now is the time to decide where they will stay until the young hatch.