Mud Dauber - "Believe-it-or-not" Wasp
Dr Abe V Rotor
Nests of Philippine Mud Dauber Sceliphron curvatum
Photos by the author.
“The mud dauber doesn’t seek praise; its work speaks for itself
in the intricate, lasting beauty of its nest.”
Mud dauber at work (Internet)
Call this wasp akup-akup in Ilocano, our dialect;
relative of the paper wasp - alumpipinig, putakti,
feared for its painful sting, similar to the hornet,
and the alimbubuyog, or the giant bumble bee.
This wasp is nature's mason and potter combined,
for which it got its name and craft - mud dauber;
mimic to man's masonry - or is it the other way?
ingeniously it builds its nest like igloo or mini tower.
Curious we kids, in our time, would examine its nest,
to find spiders, caterpillars alive but paralyzed,
as its young would feed on them until maturity,
a puzzle neither we understood nor realized.
Continued
“Just as the mud dauber builds its home piece by piece, we must build our lives with patience and persistence.”- Proverb
“The mud dauber’s home is a reminder that great things come from humble beginnings.”- Proverb
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