6798. Black potter wasp

 ORIGINAL

 

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SINGAPORE - 24 AUG 2026: 9.35am. The Black Potter Wasp (Allorhynchium argentatum) is searching for caterpillars on the broken leaves of this Chinese Violet plant. If found, it will sting the caterpillars, immobilise them and bring them into its mud nest. It will lay an egg inside this nest. Its larva will feed on the immobilised caterpillars
 

The Black Potter Wasp is a solitary wasp, and its method of feeding its young is remarkably different from that of social wasps such as paper wasps.

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Create a video - How the young Black Potter Wasps are fed. Aspect ratio 9:16

1. TEXT OVERLAY. The female builds a mud cell.
   She makes a small, sealed chamber from mud, usually resembling a tiny clay pot or vase.
2. TEXT OVERLAY. She lays one egg inside.
   The egg is usually attached to the upper interior surface of the cell.
3. TEXT OVERLAY. She goes hunting for prey.
   The female captures soft-bodied insects, particularly caterpillars and other moth or butterfly larvae.
4. TEXT  OVERLAY. She paralyzes the prey.
   Instead of killing the caterpillar, she stings it in a way that leaves it alive but immobilized. This is important because the prey remains fresh for the developing wasp larva.
5. TEXT OVERLAY. She carries the prey into the mud cell.
   Depending on the species, she may put several caterpillars into one cell. Some species can store up to about a dozen.
6. TEXT OVERLAY. She seals the cell with mud.
   Once enough food has been deposited, the mother closes the entrance and leaves. She generally does not return to feed the larva.
7. TEXT  OVERLAY. The larva feeds itself.
   When the egg hatches, the tiny wasp larva crawls onto the immobilized caterpillars and eats them directly. The prey can remain alive while being consumed.
8. TEXT OVERLAY. The larva eventually pupates.
   After consuming its food supply and completing its growth, it enters the pupal stage and eventually emerges from the mud cell as an adult wasp. 

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 Gemini-Ai wrote the following script or storyboard. It created the video Scenes 1 to 8 in a 10-second video.

Here is your 9:16 vertical video storyboard and script detailing how young black potter wasps (Allorhynchium argentatum) are fed, featuring the visual style and natural setting from your reference photographs.

Video Overview

• Aspect Ratio: 9:16 (Vertical)

• Subject: Black Potter Wasp (Allorhynchium argentatum)

• Setting: Lush natural greenery in Singapore, matching the macro aesthetic of your field observations.

Storyboard & Script

Scene 1: Building the Nest

• Visual: Macro shot of a female black potter wasp carefully molding damp soil against a twig, shaping it into a tiny, vase-like cavity.

• Text Overlay: The female builds a mud cell. She makes a small, sealed chamber from mud, usually resembling a tiny clay pot or vase.

Scene 2: Oviposition

• Visual: Close-up interior view inside the mud pot. A single tiny, pale egg is delicately attached to the upper ceiling of the chamber.

• Text Overlay: She lays one egg inside. The egg is usually attached to the upper interior surface of the cell.

Scene 3: The Hunt

• Visual: The adult wasp expertly navigating through green foliage, actively searching for host larvae among the leaves.

• Text Overlay: She goes hunting for prey. The female captures soft-bodied insects, particularly caterpillars and other moth or butterfly larvae.

Scene 4: Paralysis

• Visual: A precise macro close-up of the wasp stinging a green caterpillar, subduing it instantly without causing fatal injury.

• Text Overlay: She paralyzes the prey. Instead of killing the caterpillar, she stings it in a way that leaves it alive but immobilized. This is important because the prey remains fresh for the developing wasp larva.

Scene 5: Stocking the Pantry

• Visual: The wasp carrying an immobilized caterpillar into the opening of the mud pot, sliding it carefully inside the chamber.

• Text Overlay: She carries the prey into the mud cell. Depending on the species, she may put several caterpillars into one cell. Some species can store up to about a dozen.

Scene 6: Sealing the Chamber

• Visual: The mother wasp bringing fresh pellets of mud to cap off the opening, permanently sealing the nest before flying away.

• Text Overlay: She seals the cell with mud. Once enough food has been deposited, the mother closes the entrance and leaves. She generally does not return to feed the larva.

Scene 7: Feeding and Growth

• Visual: Cutaway animation inside the dark chamber showing a newly hatched larva actively feeding on the preserved, living caterpillars.

• Text Overlay: The larva feeds itself. When the egg hatches, the tiny wasp larva crawls onto the immobilized caterpillars and eats them directly. The prey can remain alive while being consumed.

Scene 8: Pupation and Emergence

• Visual: The mature larva spinning its cocoon/pupating inside the mud cell, culminating in the adult black potter wasp breaking through the dried clay to emerge.

• Text Overlay: The larva eventually pupates. After consuming its food supply and completing its growth, it enters the pupal stage and eventually emerges from the mud cell as an adult wasp.

 

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The fascinating part

So, strictly speaking, the mother Black Potter Wasp does not feed her young after they hatch. Instead, she practices mass provisioning: she stocks the nursery with enough paralyzed prey before leaving permanently.

It is essentially a "packed lunch" sealed inside a mud nursery—the larva has food waiting for it from the moment it hatches. This strategy is characteristic of solitary potter wasps.

If you are referring to the Black Potter Wasp commonly seen in Singapore, I can also explain exactly what it hunts, how it paralyzes the caterpillar, and how the larva eats it inside the mud pot, which would make a good wildlife-photography/video sequence.

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 The black potter wasp (Allorhynchium argentatum) in yckc forest

24 Aug 2026. 9.35am
300mm, 1/320 sec, f/5.6, iso 1000. tripod, tv mode.

Chinese Violet (Asystasia gangetica) are white flowers with one purple lip.  

The black potter wasp is a solitary, beneficial insect known for building tiny, urn-shaped clay or mud nests.

Physical Appearance

Body: Mostly glossy black, sometimes featuring faint yellow, white, or orange markings, or bluish-metallic wings.
Waist: Features a very thin, elongated first abdominal segment (petiole).
Size: Small, measuring roughly 3/8 to 3/4 of an inch (around 1 to 2 cm) long. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Nesting and Behavior

Nests: Females mix soil, water, and saliva to craft delicate, pot-like structures attached to twigs, leaves, or building walls.
Diet and Hunting: They hunt and sting caterpillars or beetle larvae to paralyze them. The paralyzed prey is stuffed into the nest as living food for the wasp's single egg.
Temperament: They are solitary and non-aggressive toward humans, rarely stinging unless directly trapped or squeezed. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]