Queen Anne’s lace is a-bloom. I often see flies congregating on it, but this particular one has a wasp and three beetles. The third beetle is out of focus on the lower left.
But for now, I draw your attention to this chunky, colorful wasp. Chrysis angolensis was introduced to this hemisphere in the middle of the last century. The female of this cuckoo wasp species parasitizes the nests of the Yellow-legged Mud-dauber.
Sceliphron caementarium. Here are a couple of them. They are relatively common around here. Look for them gathering mud.
Mud for their tomb-like nest. She will fill this with paralyzed spiders and an egg before sealing it off. (A cluster of these may then be clumped over in mud. The blue green cuckoo has other ideas, of course.
I had some of these Yellow-legged as neighbors more than once. All winter and spring long, before they emerged in June.
We don’t take spiders here, but donations are acceptable to off-set the hosting fees. (Although I must say that WordPress’s service has decayed tremendously.)
Backyard and Beyond 
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