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India Wildlife

The Potter wasps or mason wasps (Eumeninae) are a cosmopolitan wasp group presently treated as a subfamily of Vespidae, are very interesting insects that are named for the way and the form in which they build their hive. They are truly pottery artists and create unique and beautiful pot-like homes for their off-springs. It is the female potter wasps that do all the construction on their homes in less than one day, rather than the males. Possibly the simplest of the potter wasp constructions are made with mud and have tiny cells between the layers. The female will either gather droplets of water soon after rainfall mixed with her own saliva to make the mud. The potter wasp's nest is rumored to have been the original inspiration for the Indian pottery that it so strongly resembles. A Potter wasps hive in a house at Tehatta, West Bengal; India on 07/06/2023. (Photo by Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto)

Photo ID	#10134504
Date Taken	7 June 2023
Location	N/A
Photographer	Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto
Category	Human Interest
Copyright	© 2026 NurPhoto - Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto

NurPhoto General news Wildlife June 7 2023 7th June 2023 Plant Door Potter wasps mason wasps Eumeninae Vespidae insects female potter wasps mud droplets of water saliva Indian pottery Tehatta West Bengal India Potter wasps mason wasps Eumeninae Vespidae insects hive female potter wasps construction mud droplets of water Indian pottery Tehatta West Bengal