Dauber Larder

So we moved into our home a little over a year ago now, and when we bought it, construction on it wasnt complete. So we got to go "blue tape" anything on the house that we wanted them to fix...I had noticed from day 1 that in our entryway to our front door that there was some stucco that appeared as if it had not been smoothed out - I didnt think much about it, in fact, I forgot to even mention it to get fixed...Well, a year later...(this happened in July) I was out watering my plants and while doing so, I thought about this uneven piece of stucco and how I wished our ladder wasnt being borrowed so I could go up and chip it off or something. Anyway, I went into the entryway and noticed that this 'little piece of uneven stucco' was now about 3 times it was the last time I got a real good look at it...what the???

So, I went and got Casey to get his opinion on this abnormal growth on our home. (Keep in mind that we didnt have our ladder) - he got the garage broom and started poking at the "stucco" to see if it would just fall off - Hmmm...the front of the bottom half chipped right off, and to my dismay, dozens and dozens of these little black things started falling out of "THE GROWTH" - Casey very calmly but frantically began brushing them off of him as he was standing right under it when he busted it open - "What it is it?" I very worriedly asked him. "Umm, nothing dont worry about it - why dont you just go finish packing the car and Ill finish this up" was his reply. (we were on our way to go camping) - "Casey, what is it?!?" I asked him again, obviously knowing that he didnt want to tell me..."They are all dead spiders he said!"
Pardon my language, but WHAT THE HELL???
I was absolutly disgusted. I hate spiders and have to this day, not seen one inside our home (thankfully). So naturally I got all freaked out, wondering what in the crap was collecting dead spiders and putting them in this fake stucco thing above my door. In my mind I was thinking it was going to be some nasty ace BIG spider, but really had no idea. Freaking SICK!!! Anyway, like I mentioned above, we were on our way to go camping with some friends and didnt have time to do much more. So Casey got the bug spray and sprayed the crap out of the entry-way and hosed off all the dozens of mini spiders off the porch before we left.

Anyway...of course I did my home work when we returned and guess what it really was?
A DAUBER LAUDER...do you know what that is, or have you even ever heard of that? Yeah, thats what I thought!
But guess what? It really isnt as nasty as you think it is...I was actually pleasently surprised to find out that I have a dear friend wasp (A known fact, that this type of wasp is a friendly wasp) that I have named "Nectar".
Nectar, you see is a mud dauber lauder. Nectar is a female and she is known to construct a mud nest, then she goes in search of spiders to fill the chambers of her mud nest with. Flower spiders tend to compose the majority of her prey. She stings those disgusting spiders that I hate SO BAD! and paralyze it - she doesnt kill the spider out right BC then it will start to rot right away. Instead, she just paralyzes the spider, which keeps them FRESH. Then, she carries it to the nest where depending on the size of the spider, she will place up to 2 dozen of them in each of chambers (there are about 20 champbers in each nest)and then she'll lay an egg on them, cap the tube off with more mud and start stocking the next tube. The egg hatches and the baby wasp eats the paralyzed spiders as it grows. Then, come around fall, it pupates and waits for spring, at which time in finishes, pops out of the nest and goes and finds its mother. - Kind of interesting huh?
***I have mixed feelings about my new friend Nectar. I still have half of her nest above my door...dont worry, its empty. I was hoping she would come back and lay her next egg there, but it has been a month now, and I havent seen her.
Its gross that I had a collection of paralyzed spiders above my entryway to my house, but at the same time, Nectar killed dozens and dozens and dozens of spiders for me and has kept me happy in my spider free home and quite frankly - I have only maybe seen a couple spiders on the out skirts of my home thanks to her. Oh well...I guess the remains of her hard work where she was hoping to 'birth' her children will have to come down now. (So dont worry)!
Thanks Nectar for your hard work and I am sorry to distroy the home you worked so hard to build to shelter your little ones.