BIG wasp pot

Identification - Rhynchium haemorrhoidale - potter wasp

I spotted this pot right at the start of my safari yesterday, by the first tree, under a banana leaf. The pot didn't appear to be sealed so there was a good chance that it was active, but as every good cook knows, pot watching can be a time consuming process. So I decided to do the safari and come back to the pot at the end of the session.

When I got back to the pot, almost immediately the wasp arrived and disappeared into the pot. I managed to snap three images, but I knew I hadn't nailed them. So I sat down on the edge of the crumbling 20' ravine and waited.

There was a leaf partly obscuring the view so I had to sit in an awkward position to avoid it. The sun was up and burning the side of my face and you could fry an egg on the black camera body.

I may have missed the wasp leaving the pot as I was continually distracted by a myriad of bugs and butterflies as I sat and waited. After the best part of an hour, I decided to give it up and try again the next day.

So, today I was prepared for the pot stakeout, armed with a cushion to ease my bruised coccyx after yesterday's vigil. First job was to remove the leaf that impeded my view yesterday, for a much more comfortable viewing angle.

As I was messing about with the leaf stem, the wasp emerged. I knew I was in trouble, so I stayed perfectly still and after about 20 seconds she went back inside the pot.

The view now cleared, I sat down and waited for her to re-appear for the shoot, but again, it was not happening. So I adjusted the monopod length and tapped on the branch. Sure enough, out she popped, had a look around and retreated. Two goes at this and I had enough shots, so decided not to push my luck and antagonize her any longer.

This was one of those rare occasions when I just could not wait to get back to the lab. Lots of good keepers from the session, I am a happy chappy :)

The pot was huge, at 2" diameter, way bigger than any wasp pot that I have seen before, usually not much more than an inch in diameter. Of course the wasp was one of the biggest wasps I have seen at 26mm long. It is actually the same wasp which I blipped two weeks ago from the very same location.

I did some research and could not ID the wasp, nor could I find an image of a wasp pot that came anywhere close to the dimensions of this one. So, back to Google as soon as I post this and hope to do an update later updated.

Dave