#pachodynerus nasidens

[platycryptus]

this mud dauber wasp (Sceliphron caementarium) seemed distressed about something in her clay nest. Turns out it had been commandeered by a keyhole wasp (Pachodynerus nasidens), who was now aggressively asserting ownership

keyhole wasps, which hunt weevils and other small beetles, will opportunistically nest in any sort of small cavity (such as a keyhole). The existing literature on this species doesn’t say anything about taking over other wasp‘s nests, only that they sometimes refurbish abandoned nests, but I guess this one didn’t get the memo.

This isn't the worst of their mischief though- they also have a habit of building nests that clog up the airspeed measuring instruments in planes and have caused several fatal crashes.

(Florida, 10/6/21)

[drhoz]

#1820 - Pachodynerus nasidens - Exotic Keyhole Wasp

Photo by Gail Hampshire, of Wikipedia. This one is inspecting a hole in Santa Clara, Cuba.

When it comes to human deaths caused by a single animal - not species, a single individual - then the record probably goes to the Champawat Tiger that killed some 436 people in Nepal and India before she was finally shot. But she had a career spanning at least a decade - whatever wasp caused the crash of Birgenair Flight 301 killed 186 people in one go. 

The 757-200 crashed shortly after take-off from Puerto Plata's Gregorio Luperón International Airport, and the crash investigation blamed pilot error after receiving incorrect airspeed information from one of the pitot tubes, which investigators believe was blocked by a wasp nest built inside it. The aircraft had been sitting unused for 20 days, and without pitot tube covers in place for the 2 days before the crash. It’s not known exactly which species of wasp was responsible, but there’s a number of possible Sphecid and Vespid wasps that would happily build a mud nest inside any suitable hole. 

So it’s rather distressing that the wasps have caused multiple aircraft emergencies at Brisbane airport, including one in 2018 where somebody forgot to take the anti-wasp covers off. Brisbane airport has a major ongoing problem with the Keyhole Wasp  Pachodynerus nasidens, which as the name suggests just LOOOOVES building her cells inside manmade cavities. 

This potter wasp is originally from the Neotropics, but is now found in the Northern US and various parts of the Pacific, including Brisbane, where it first showed up at the Port in 2010 and at the airport in 2012. They spread fast and work faster - they can completely block a sensor within 20 minutes. 

[campplay]

Keyhole Wasps May Threaten Aircraft Safety

Keyhole Wasps May Threaten Aircraft Safety

Pachodynerus nasidens on 3D-printed De Haviland Dash-8 pitot probe. Credit: House et al (2020) PLOS ONE, CC BY Over a period of 39 months, invasive keyhole wasps (Pachodynerus nasidens) at the Brisbane Airport were responsible for 93 instances of fully blocked replica pitot probes — vital instruments that measure airspeed — according to a study published November 30 in the open-access journal…

[guardiannews24]

Keyhole Wasps May Threaten Aircraft Safety

Keyhole Wasps May Threaten Aircraft Safety

Over a period of 39 months, invasive keyhole wasps (Pachodynerus nasidens) at the Brisbane Airport were responsible for 93 instances of fully blocked replica pitot probes — vital instruments that measure airspeed — according to a study published November 30 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Ala Source

[guardiannews24]

Keyhole Wasps May Threaten Aircraft Safety

Keyhole Wasps May Threaten Aircraft Safety

Over a period of 39 months, invasive keyhole wasps (Pachodynerus nasidens) at the Brisbane Airport were responsible for 93 instances of fully blocked replica pitot probes — vital instruments that measure airspeed — according to a study published November 30 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Ala Source