Species Selection Personal preferences play a major role in the selection process. Make sure you use the information you have gathered about your site conditions, and balance them with the aesthetic decisions you make related to your personal preferences. If you are having difficulty answering any of these questions on your own, contact your local garden center, nursery, or county ISU Extension office for assistance. It is better to get them involved early and make the right decision, to avoid having to call them later and find out that you made the wrong decision. Mud daubers are solitary wasps that construct small nests of mud in or around homes, sheds, and barns and under open structures, bridges, and similar sites.
Several species exist in Iowa.
These wasps are long and slender with a narrow, threadlike waist. Some are a solid steel blue or black but others have additional yellow markings. This wasp group is named for the nests that are made from mud collected by the females. Mud is rolled into a ball, carried to the nest and molded into place with the wasp s mandibles. There are three different wasps that practice this behavior.