08/15/2026
MEET Four-toothed mason wasp
I have to take a minute to share how much I enjoy using iNaturalist. It’s an easy-to-use, nonprofit citizen science app that helps identify just about anything in nature. As I find plants or pollinators that are unfamiliar to me, I snap a photo, upload it, and often receive an identification within a few hours—or sometimes a few days.
One of the reasons I enjoy the app so much is that the identification often leads me to do a little extra research on my own. That’s how I learn more about the plants, pollinators, and other wildlife I’m seeing right here on the property.
My latest curiosity was this wasp. What first caught my eye were the small larvae-like specimens beside it. After looking into the identification, I learned this wasp is commonly called the four-toothed mason wasp. It is a solitary wasp that often uses abandoned tunnels made by carpenter bees, which appears to be the case here.
Female four-toothed mason wasps hunt caterpillars, worms, and similar prey, then bring them back to their nest cells to feed their hatching larvae. That likely explains the two grub-like larvae beside her and the nearby vacated carpenter bee nest.
I’ve seen these wasps on the property many times, but now I understand just how beneficial they are. They help control insects that can damage plants and crops, and as adults they feed on nectar, which means they also contribute to pollination. Nature always has something new to teach us!
