Trap-nesting
Guides
Anthophora terminalis
Orange-tipped Wood-digger
Anthophora terminalis is a solitary anthophorine bee in the family Apidae, known for its distinctive nesting behavior in wood and other substrates. The species constructs cells using chewed sawdust or wood fibers, lining them with salivary secretions. It has been documented across North America and parts of Europe and Northern Asia, with specific studies in Wisconsin revealing details of its univoltine life cycle and nest architecture. Adults have been observed foraging on several plant species including Stachys palustris, Nepeta cataria, and Epilobium angustifolium.
Dipogon
spider wasps
Dipogon is a genus of small spider wasps (Pompilidae) characterized by ant-mimicking dark-banded wings and a distinctive 'beard' of hairs on the maxillary palps used to transport nesting materials. These solitary wasps are primarily forest-dwelling, hunting spiders on tree trunks and constructing multi-celled nests in pre-existing tubular cavities such as beetle tunnels or hollow plant stems. The genus exhibits notable behavioral plasticity in nest construction, using mud, leaf fragments, insect parts, and even stolen bee provisions to form cell partitions.
Dipogon sayi
spider wasp
Dipogon sayi is a solitary spider wasp in the family Pompilidae that nests in pre-existing cavities (trap-nests). It is known from the northeastern United States, with the easternmost records from Maine. The species provisions its nests with paralyzed spiders, particularly crab spiders (Thomisidae), as food for its larvae.
Symmorphus cristatus
Tufted Potter Wasp
Symmorphus cristatus is a solitary mason wasp in the subfamily Eumeninae, widely distributed across North America. It is a specialist predator of leaf beetle larvae (Chrysomelidae), which it paralyzes and provisions in mud-partitioned nest cells. The species exhibits trap-nesting behavior, utilizing pre-existing cavities in dead wood rather than constructing free-standing nests. It serves as a significant biological control agent for several leaf beetle species and is subject to brood parasitism by cuckoo wasps.