Organ Pipe Mud Dauber vs Cape Oil-collecting Bee

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Organ Pipe Mud Dauber Cape Oil-collecting Bee
Scientific Name Trypoxylon politum Rediviva neliana
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Crabronidae Melittidae
Size 15-20 mm 10-14 mm
Habitat Underground Mountains
Diet Predators Nectar Feeders
Regions North America South Africa
Conservation Least Concern Data Deficient

Organ Pipe Mud Dauber

A slender black wasp that builds distinctive parallel tubes of mud resembling organ pipes under eaves and overhangs. Males guard the nest while females hunt.

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Did You Know?

Males are unusually dedicated fathers for wasps, standing guard at the nest entrance against parasites while the female hunts.

Cape Oil-collecting Bee

A South African oil-collecting bee with extraordinarily long front legs used to extract floral oil from deep-spurred Diascia flowers. It is a solitary ground-nesting species.

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Did You Know?

Its front legs can be longer than its entire body, an extreme adaptation for reaching oils at the bottom of deep flower spurs.