This is a solitary Mason Wasp in the subfamily Eumeninae. This robust black wasp is approximately 1 inch in length with a white collar behind the head. There is a narrow white band on the hind portion of the thorax, and a wide transverse white band on the first abdominal segment. Antennae and legs are black. Short hairs over the thorax and abdomen give it a fuzzy appearance when seen close up and in good light. A similar looking wasp, Pseudodynerus quadrisectus, is more slender and has more white markings on the thorax and abdomen.
The Four-toothed Mason Wasp is uncommon in Fontenelle Forest and Neale Woods. The photographs shown here were taken on 9/16/04 of a female nectaring on goldenrod in Fontenelle Forest and on 9/23/15 also of an individual nectaring on goldenrod.
The females hunt and paralyze caterpillars as the food source for their larvae. It uses abandoned carpenter bee tunnels as nesting sites. The tunnel is partitioned into cells where one egg is laid and provisioned with several caterpillars. Monobia Quadridens, primarily a neotropical species, is the only species in the genus north of south Texas.
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