Wasp drinking/foraging water. Read description to know more
In the scorching heat, even these lil ones are struggling to find some much needed water. This Oriental Mud-dauber Wasp(Chalybion bengalense) has been a regular visitor at this particular pipe for the past few weeks. Wasps return to a good foraging site day after day.So I decided to let the leaky pipe remain leaky(the water drops into a bucket which is used later on and that's a win win situation.) i believe we gotta be kind to all living creatures, no matter their size or reputation.
Wasps don’t just drink water. They use it for lots of different things: they mix water and mud to construct their nest, use water for cooling their nest on hot days, and share the water with nest-mates and larvae.
Chalybion is a genus of blue mud dauber wasps in the family Sphecidae. Chalybion species nest in a wide range of natural and artificial cavities such as holes in wood, walls, plant stems, etc., where they typically provision their brood cells with paralyzed spiders. They also reuse old nests of other wasps like Trypoxylon and Sceliphron.
Chalybion bengalense uses old nests of Sceliphron and various eumenids, preexisting holes, and trap nests. The wasp cleans the nest cell and provisions it with paralyzed spider prey. The female lays an egg on one of her prey. Chalybion bengalense closes the nest cells with mud and on the cell cap adds an extra layer of lime, mud, cow dung, resinous material, or rotting plant.