mud dauber

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mud dauber

Any of various solitary predatory wasps, especially of the families Sphecidae and Crabronidae, that build nests of mud and provision them with paralyzed prey.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

mud dauber

(Animals) any of various wasps of the family Sphecidae, that construct cells of mud or clay in which they lay their eggs and store live insects as food for the developing larvae. See also digger wasp

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

mud′ daub`er

any of several wasps of the family Sphecidae that build a nest of mud cells and provision it with paralyzed spiders or insects for the larvae to feed on.

[1855–60, Amer.]

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Noun

mud dauber - wasp that constructs mud cells on a solid base in which females place eggs laid in paralyzed insect larvae

sphecoid, sphecoid wasp - any of various solitary wasps

family Sphecidae, Sphecidae - mud daubers; some digger wasps

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