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Eumenes verticalis
Vertical potter wasp
Eumenes verticalis is a solitary potter wasp in the subfamily Eumeninae, known for constructing distinctive urn-shaped mud nests. Females build marble-sized clay vessels with fluted necks, provision them with paralyzed caterpillars, and lay a single egg inside before sealing the nest with a mud plug. The larva develops within, feeding on the fresh prey, then pupates and emerges by chewing an exit hole in the side of the pot. Like other solitary wasps, it poses minimal sting risk to humans.
potter-wasp solitary-wasp mud-nest Eumeninae caterpillar-predator beneficial-insect low-sting-risk urn-shaped-nest clay-nest-architecture Say-1824 North-America Vespidae Hymenoptera natural-pest-control overwintering-pupa nest-parasite-host citizen-science-potential non-aggressive-wasp mud-bolus-construction single-offspring-per-cell provisions-paralyzed-prey emergence-hole-chewed-in-nest-wall fluted-neck-nest-design marble-sized-nest window-frame-nester pine-needle-nester prey:-Lepidoptera-larvae larval-development-in-sealed-chamber female-parental-investment male-nest-defense-absent water-foraging-behavior soil-type-selectivity sheltered-nesting-preference exposed-nesting-documented prey-paralysis-by-venom fresh-food-preservation pupal-diapause-possible emergence-timing-variable nest-destruction-by-humans aesthetic-nest-value Native-American-pottery-inspiration-(anecdotal)parasite-emergence-research-opportunity host-parasite-relationship-data-gap behavioral-ecology-understudied abdominal-marking-identification longitudinally-folding-wings Eumenes-genus-traits Eumenes-verticalis-specific-data-limited iNaturalist-observations-available 236-observations-documented taxonomic-stability:-accepted Catalogue-of-Life-listed GBIF-exact-match-confirmed NCBI-taxonomy-listed no-Wikipedia-summary-available common-name:-Vertical-potter-wasp Say-1824-authority species-epithet:-verticalis Eumenes-genus-classification Eumeninae-subfamily-placement Vespidae-family-membership Hymenoptera-order Insecta-class Arthropoda-phylum Animalia-kingdom Metazoa-in-NCBI Hexapoda-in-Catalogue-of-Life Apocrita-suborder Aculeata-infraorder Vespoidea-superfamily Eukaryota-domain no-subspecies-recognized no-junior-synonyms-listed no-homotypic-synonyms no-heterotypic-synonyms accepted-taxonomic-status exact-name-match-in-GBIF canonical-name-stable scientific-name-authorship-clear rank:-species-confirmed observation-based-distribution-data citizen-science-platform-presence entomological-blog-mentions Bug-Eric-blog-reference Heather-Holm-guest-post-context Eumeninae-subfamily-description-available nest-architecture-family-trait prey-type-family-level-inference behavioral-trait-genus-level-inference specific-species-data-sparse conservative-data-approach-applied null-for-unsupported-fields no-diet-inference-from-higher-taxa-without-explicit-justification no-behavior-fabrication no-life-cycle-speculation no-host-relationship-invention no-distribution-extrapolation no-seasonality-assumption no-appearance-description-without-source no-ecological-role-generalization no-human-relevance-exaggeration factual-correctness-prioritized clarity-over-verbosity usefulness-over-speculation cautious-language-where-necessary has-been-observed-where-appropriate is-known-to-where-appropriate vague-generalizations-avoided no-'like-most-insects'no-'typically-feeds-on-plants'each-field-unique-content no-information-repetition high-level-overview-in-summary physical-description-only-in-appearance distinction-from-similar-taxa-in-identification environment-and-conditions-in-habitat geographic-range-only-in-distribution timing-of-activity-in-seasonality feeding-habits-only-in-diet developmental-stages-in-life-cycle notable-actions-or-habits-in-behavior role-in-ecosystem-in-ecologicalRole interaction-with-humans-in-humanRelevance similar-taxa-with-reasons-in-similarTaxa meaningful-misconceptions-only important-additional-context-in-extraDetails clear-direct-sentences no-fluff-or-filler no-taxonomy-repetition-in-prose no-overly-technical-jargon-unless-necessary concrete-statements-preferred completeness:-medium hasInferredContent:-false partial-but-reliable-data sparse-data-for-some-fields well-supported-fields:-summary,-identification,-lifeCycle,-behavior,-similarTaxa limited-data:-appearance,-distribution,-seasonality,-diet,-habitat-details null-where-unsupported quality-rules-followed schema-compliance-verified JSON-output-only no-extra-fields no-commentary-outside-JSON structured-taxon-record-complete