Texas Gardening: Where are all the wasps this year?, 1 by GD_Rankin

GD_Rankin wrote:
Dobbers? ahhh Daubers . . . . so datz how ya spull dat one huh? lol

Well to the best of my knowledge, they can sting, but typically don't. Someone else may have a different idea about this, but as far as I know they won't sting you unless you sit on one or something like that. I've messed with them and even removed their "houses" from unwanted places with them right there and they just fly off. For some reason they aren't as protective of their little mud houses like a hornet or Yellow Jacket is of their paper nest.

For the most part, they're pretty docile and won't sting. At least that's been my experience with them. I'd like to hear if anyone else's differs?

Here's a good example of their absence . . . it may be a little hard to see from this photo, but the evidence is there. lol
This is taken of a usual favorite area for the daubers to build their mud tunnels - the underside of the eve on my front porch. Each year I have to clean anywhere from 20 - 30 of these off. I always wait until winter and they are vacant to do that and they always come back the following spring. Well this year there are none . . . and there aren't any in the other typical areas either . . . something strange about that to me.

And yeah I realize we haven't had the rain this year that we sometimes have. But that's never stopped them in the past. There's a big stock tank a few hundred yards from my house that holds water in even years like this one. Not to mention I keep plenty of soil moist around my plants and always have water out for the birds and my dogs. So I'm thinking that something else is the cause for the lack of them around here. No idea what . . . but something is odd about that to me.