Eumenes fraternus is a solitary wasp, and does not communicate explicitly with others of its species. However, the female potter wasp can defend herself by stinging. Male potter wasps of closely related species have been found to be quite aggressive towards other species of insects when they have located a good feeding area. Although information about perception in E. fraternus is sparse, closely related species use UV detection and photodetection to determine which spots are pollen or nectar rich and good for feeding.
Communication Channels: tactile
Perception Channels: ultraviolet; chemical
This species of potter wasp is not considered endangered or threatened.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
Female potter wasps (Eumenes) lay fertilized eggs in a dome constructed with mud. The sex of each of these eggs is genetically determined by a single gene loci with many alleles. Once the eggs hatch, the larvae grow and develop in the pot and eat paralyzed caterpillars that the mother provides for sustenance. Potter wasp development occurs solely within a closed environment, and little is known about the metamorphosis between juvenile and adult stages. Development can be put on hiatus for overwintering. In this case, the egg remains within the mud dome until conditions are appropriate for the wasp to continue development. Once the wasp reaches adulthood, it burrows out of the nest.
Development - Life Cycle: metamorphosis ; diapause
Potter wasps will not sting humans unless they are bothered. They can be pests to humans if they build pots in garden areas or on windowsills of a home. Luckily, it is not difficult to remove an empty pot by simply scraping it away.
Negative Impacts: injures humans (bites or stings); crop pest
Gardeners are especially fond of potter wasps for controlling caterpillars in the garden that would otherwise destroy their crops.
Positive Impacts: controls pest population
Potter wasps are both predators and prey in their ecosystem, and function to control caterpillar populations.
Potter wasps are omnivorous. Adults feed primarily on flower nectar from mid-summer through the fall. However, the young only eat moth and butterfuly (Lepidoptera) larvae placed in the nest by the mother. Females are known to store up to 12 caterpillars in their nests for the developing young.
Animal Foods: insects
Plant Foods: nectar
Foraging Behavior: stores or caches food
Primary Diet: omnivore
Eumenes fraternus, a species of potter wasp, is native to the Nearctic region. It is found in eastern North America and the eastern United States, occuring as far west as Ontario in Canada, and Minnesota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Texas in the United States.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )
Eumenes fraternus lives in temperate forests, at woodland edges, and in shrubby fields. These wasps are also found in suburban or agricultural areas. Juveniles live in small domes that the mother constructs with mud. These domes are found on shrubs, bushy plants, and various overhangs that are anywhere from less than 1 meter off the ground to about 5 meters high in the treeline. The egg domes are usually found on the outside of forest edges.
Range elevation: 1 to 9 m.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; forest
Other Habitat Features: suburban ; agricultural
Potter wasps are able to produce 2 to 3 generations within one season.
Eumenes fraternus is small and delicate, measuring about 9.5 to 19 mm long. The body is black and shiny, and ivory markings are present on the face, thorax, and abdomen. The first abdominal segment is long and stalk-like. Wingspan ranges from 8 to 12.5 mm and wings are a metallic bluish-brown. Females are slightly larger than males. The species can be distinguished from close relatives Eumenes crucifera and E. verticalis by a shorter pubescence of the scape, which is less than 0.8x mid ocular diameter. In the closely related species, the scape has longer hairs. This wasp undergoes incomplete metaphorphosis and has immature stages differing from adults.
Range length: 9.52 to 19.05 mm.
Range wingspan: 8 to 12.5 mm.
Sexual Dimorphism: female larger
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Female E. fraternus can sting their predators. Their markings are imitated by a non-harmful species of Diptera, which is further evidence of their defensive properties. As juveniles, the only means of defense against predators is the mud dome in which they develop. Luckily, this is quite effective, and the hard exterior successfully protects the larvae.
Eumenes fraternus has a short life cycle, and thus can spawn two or three generations within one season. Mating occurs in the spring, summer, and fall, and the species overwinters during the colder winter months. Research has not yet determined if these wasps are polygynous or polygynandrous.
Mating System: polygynous ; polygynandrous (promiscuous)
Reproduction in potter wasps is not well understood. Courtship, mating, and oviposition occur in the spring, summer, and fall, and potter wasps can spawn two to three generations between winters. Females are oviparous and lays one egg in each mud pot they construct. Females may construct many pots to house all of her eggs.
Breeding interval: Potter wasps can breed two to three times per year, in the warmer months.
Breeding season: Courtship, mating, and oviposition occur in the spring, summer, and fall.
Key Reproductive Features: seasonal breeding ; sexual ; fertilization ; oviparous
Male Eumenes fraternus do not invest in the offspring, except to contribute gametes. Females construct mud domes where the eggs mature. They also paralyze caterpillars and deposit them into the dome for nourishment. Afterwards, female potter wasps do not tend to the pot and do not stay long enough to see the adults emerge.
Parental Investment: female parental care ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female)
Eumenes fraternus is a species of potter wasp in the subfamily Eumeninae of the family Vespidae. It is native to the eastern United States and Canada. The female builds a miniature pot out of mud in which it lays an egg and places a live caterpillar. Its developing larva feeds on this whereas the adult wasp feeds primarily on nectar.
Wasps in the genus Eumenes can be recognised by the fact that the first abdominal segment is long and slender, very thin at the front and widening towards the back. Eumenes fraternus is about 15 to 20 mm (0.6 to 0.8 in) long and is similar in appearance to other members of the genus. Its colouring is black with a scattering of ivory-coloured markings.[1] The forewings are 8 to 10.5 mm (0.3 to 0.4 in) long in the male and 10 to 12.5 mm (0.4 to 0.5 in) in the female. It has shorter pubescence on the first segment of the antenna than do the otherwise similar E. crucifera and E. verticalis.[2]
Eumenes fraternus is found in the eastern United States and Canada. Its range extends west as far as Ontario, Minnesota, Kansas and Texas. It is on the wing from about April to November in North Carolina and is found in glades, rough shrubby areas and forest verges.[3]
Like other members of the genus, the female Eumenes fraternus builds a pitcher-shaped nest in which to lay an egg.[1] This is made with mud, the wasp collecting a drop of water and then a dry particle of soil, dampening the soil and putting it in place. Several hundred such fragments will be needed and the pot may take one or two hours to build. When it is ready, the wasp inserts her abdomen into the hollow interior and lays an egg, suspending it on a fine thread. She then searches for suitable food to put inside the pot on which her developing larva may feed. Usually this is the larva of a butterfly or moth that has been stung to paralyse it and which will remain alive and fresh until the developing wasp larva needs it. When she has placed enough provisions in the pot, the wasp seals the top with damp soil and goes off to build another nest.[1] The adult insects feed mainly on nectar that they gather from flowers,[3] but they also feed on pollen with its higher protein content.[4]
Eumenes fraternus is a species of potter wasp in the subfamily Eumeninae of the family Vespidae. It is native to the eastern United States and Canada. The female builds a miniature pot out of mud in which it lays an egg and places a live caterpillar. Its developing larva feeds on this whereas the adult wasp feeds primarily on nectar.
