Stats

Lifespan

A few weeks

Size

Medium

Diet

Omnivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate forest

Range

North America

Movement

Flight

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Venom

Status

Uncommon

About

A solitary black-and-white wasp named for the four small teeth on its jaws, which it uses to shape mud into nest partitions inside hollow stems and old beetle tunnels. Females stock each mud-walled cell with paralyzed caterpillars before sealing it shut for their young.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
2. 2.
   juvenile

   An immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
3. 3.
   subadult

   A near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
4. 4.
   adult

   Fully grown, with full wings and adult coloration.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Hymenoptera

Family

Vespidae

Genus

Monobia

Species

Monobia quadridens