Does anyone know the name of this wasp?

Question

At least, I think it was a wasp. It was in my daughter's room yesterday afternoon and I whacked it with my slipper. When I went to pick it up, I noticed I'd never seen anything like it before. It looked very much like a regular wasp, but it was a deep royal blue color, almost a bright navy blue. The color was not neon-like, but it was very rich. I was just interested in learning what it was.

Answer 1

I believe it was a mud wasp, called that because they build nests made of mud.  They are extremely beautiful creatures and do not harm humans.  The are very good at hunting spiders which they use to place in the cubicle of their nest, lay an egg on, and then the paralyzed spider becomes the food supply for the growing larvae.

Some of these wasps have beautiful orange wings.  They also have tiny little wastes between their thorax and abdomen.

Answer 2

A dirt dopper is what we call them.  They make mud nest and hunt spiders and other insects they paralyze and trap in the mud nest with their eggs.  When the eggs hatch their offspring have a snack.lol They are mostly harmless unlike the red wasp, yellow jacket, and the mean hornet.  They will only sting if you step on them or crush them.  But they will try to bluff you, like the wood bee.

Answer 3

I found this website, and it sounds like it may be a Blue Mud Dauber - here's the site,

http://www.treknature.com/gallery/North_...

I also found a better picture...

http://www.robsplants.com/images/critter...

Hope this helped!

Answer 4

What country are you in

Answer 5

Do you have any swamps, rivers, ponds or lakes around your house??

http://bugguide.net/node/view/15097/bgim...

Did it look like this?  It's called a cuckoo wasp. They are harmless to humans but are a danger to bees since they inject their eggs into bee larvae.

Another possibility would be this:

http://bugguide.net/node/view/121056

They're called Thread-waisted Wasps.

They're harmless to humans, and feed on nectar.

As mentioned below it could also be a Mud Dauber (Mud Wasp is just another name).

Answer 6

There is a wasp I see often in the garage kinda fits that description.  It is one of the mud daubers.  They make a cylindrical nest of clay on wood post.  They are harmless.  They use spiders to feed the growing larvae in those mud nest.