Nick Upton / Leafcutter / Rose-cutter bee (Megachile willughbiella) lands at its nest in a Bamboo tube in an insect hotel near several nests she has completed and some Potter wasp (Ancistrocerus sp.) nests, Wiltsh...

Konrad Wothe / Yellowjacket (Paravespula vulgaris) wasp feeding on fruit, Germany

Nick Upton / Recently completed Leafcutter / Rose-cutter bee (Megachile willughbiella) and Potter wasp (Ancistrocerus sp.) nests in Bamboo tubes in an insect hotel, Wiltshire, UK, July.

Rod Williams / European potter wasp (Ancistrocerus gazella) Sutcliffe Park Nature Reserve, Eltham, London, England, UK. August.

Andy Sands / Mason wasp (symmorphus gracilis) on sandy bank of old quarry, Oxfordshire, England, UK, August

Nick Upton / Insect hotel with drilled logs and bundles of bamboo stems, some with partially completed mud nests of Mason wasps wasps (Ancistrocerus sp), garden, Gloucestershire, UK, May.

Andy Sands / Mason wasp (Symmorphus gracilis) collecting mud for nest building, Oxfordshire, England, UK, September

Chris Shields / Potter flower bee (Anthophora retusa) illustration

Andy Sands / Mason wasp (Ancistrocerus gazella) dormant in flower during cold weather conditions, Surrey, England, UK, June

Andy Sands / Heath potter wasp (Eumenes coarctatus) female using her mandibles to collect mud for nest building, Surrey, England, UK, August

Andy Sands / Mason wasp (Ancistrocerus scoticus) female collecting mud to build nest, Cornwall, England, UK, September

Andy Sands / Heath potter wasp (Eumenes coarctatus) female using her mandibles to collect mud for nest building, Surrey, England, UK, August

Andy Sands / Heath potter wasp (Eumenes coarctatus) female using her mandibles to collect mud for nest building, Surrey, England, UK, August

Andy Sands / Heath potter wasp (Eumenes coarctatus) female using her mandibles to collect mud for nest building, Surrey, England, UK, August

Pascal Pittorino / European potter wasp (Ancistrocerus gazella) feeding on Ivy flowers (Hedera helix) in a garden, Toulon, Var, France, October

Nick Upton / Mason wasp / Potter wasp (Ancistrocerus sp.) inspecting a nest hole in a drilled log within an insect hotel, Gloucestershire garden, UK, April.

Alex Hyde / Heath potter wasp (Eumenes coarctatus) nest, Dorset, UK. August.

Pascal Pittorino / European potter wasp (Ancistrocerus gazella) on Wood sorrel flower (Oxalis articulata), Toulon, Var, Provence, France, October.

Nick Upton / Potter wasp / Mason wasp (Eumenes sareptanus) feeding on Spearmint flowers (Mentha spicata), Kilada, Greece, August.

Pete Oxford / Wasp (Polybia sp) nest in rainforest, Ecuador

MYN / Lily Kumpe / Potter wasp (Abispa ephippium) Plutonic Gold Mine, Meekatharra Shire, Gascoyne Bioregion, Western Australia. Meetyourneighbtous.net project

Steve O. Taylor (GHF) / Large terracotta storage pots outside potter's work shop, rural Chad, 2002-2003.

MYN / Pierre Escoubas / Potter / mason wasp (Eumenes sp) Valbonne, France, August. Meetyourneighbours.net project.

MYN / Pierre Escoubas / Potter / mason wasp (Eumenes sp) Valbonne, France, August. Meetyourneighbours.net project.

MYN / Pierre Escoubas / Potter / mason wasp (Eumenes sp) Corsica, June. Meetyourneighbours.net project.

Chien Lee / Potter Wasp (Eumenes sp) carrying a caterpillar to its hive, Kasai, Batang Ai National Park, Malaysia

Chien Lee / Potter Wasp (Eumenes sp) pair building hive, Kasai, Batang Ai National Park, Malaysia

Ann & Steve Toon / Potter or mason wasp nest (Delta emarginatum), Kunene region, Namibia, Africa, May

Michael Durham / Potter Wasp (Anterhynchium sp) female flying, Matobo National Park, Zimbabwe

Rod Williams / European Potter Wasp (Ancistrocerus gazella) Lewisham, London, August

Suzi Eszterhas / Wasp (Polybia sp) group on nest, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

Doug Wechsler / Blue-winged / Digger wasp (Scolia dubia) on Goldenrod (Solidago) flowers, Pinelands Reserve, New Jersey, USA, September.

Pete Oxford / Wasp (Polybia sp) constructing nest, Yasuni National Park, Amazon Rainforest, Ecuador

Nick Upton / Great potter wasp / Mason wasp (Delta unguiculatum) getting moisture from beach sand, Samos, Greece, August.

Nick Upton / Potter wasp / Mason wasp (Eumenes mediterraneus) feeding on Rock samphire / Sea Fennel flowers (Crithmum maritimum) by the coast, Samos, Greece, August.

Nick Upton / Great Potter / Mason Wasp (Delta unguiculatum) getting moisture from sand, Samos, Greece, August.

Nick Upton / Potter Wasp (Rhynchium oculatum) feeding on Variegated Spurge (Euphorbia marginata) flowers. Lesbos / Lesvos, Greece, August.

Nick Upton / Potter Wasp (Rhynchium oculatum) feeding on Variegated Spurge (Euphorbia marginata) flowers. Lesbos / Lesvos, Greece, August.

Nick Upton / Potter Wasp (Rhynchium oculatum) feeding on Variegated Spurge (Euphorbia marginata) flowers. Lesbos / Lesvos, Greece, August.

Nick Upton / Potter Wasp (Eumenes sp.) on Variegated Spurge (Euphorbia marginata) flowers. Lesbos / Lesvos, Greece, August.

Nick Upton / Bee Fly (Toxophora fasciculata) - a parasite of Potter Wasp larvae - standing on Variegated Spurge (Euphorbia marginata) flowers. Lesbos / Lesvos, Greece, August.

Nick Upton / Potter Wasp (Rhynchium oculatum) feeding on Variegated Spurge (Euphorbia marginata) flowers. Lesbos / Lesvos, Greece, August.

Nick Upton / Mason Wasp (Ancistrocerus sp.) grooming itself on a leaf, Wiltshire garden, UK, May.

Gary K. Smith / Potter making traditional clay goblets, Cornwall, UK, May 2010

Murray Cooper / Wasp (Polybia sp) group starting to build a nest, Amazon, Ecuador

Murray Cooper / Wasp (Pirhosigma sp) near mud nests, Ecuador

Hanne & Jens Eriksen / Beetle wasp {Scolia sp} feeding on flower of Sodom's apple {Calotropis procera}, Al Haiyir, UAE

PREMAPHOTOS / Female mud dauber wasp (Eumenes fenestralis) collects mud. S.Af.

Christian Ziegler / Wasp (Polybia sp) capturing an embrionic Red-eyed Tree Frog by cutting open the ball encasing the developing embryo, Soberania National Park, Panama

Nature Production / Mason Wasp {Orancistrocerus drewseni} carrying a cabbage moth caterpillar {Acanthognathus teledectus} to its nest, Japan

Michael Durham / Yellowjacket (Vespinae) flying near Ochoco Pass in central Oregon. Photographed with a high-speed camera

Michael Durham / Yellowjacket (Vespinae) flying near Ochoco Pass in central Oregon

Doug Wechsler / Blue winged wasp {Scolia dubia} feeding on Goldenrod, Pennsylvania, USA.

Kim Taylor / Solitary Wasp (Eumenidae) Australia. Captive

PREMAPHOTOS / Female Mud dauber wasp collects mud for nest building {Eumenes fenestralis} S Africa

PREMAPHOTOS / Potter wasp female nest building in desert {Delta dimidiatipenne} Israel

PREMAPHOTOS / Potter wasp collecting dry soil for nest building in desert {Delta dimidiatipenne} Israel

PREMAPHOTOS / Communal eumenine/potter wasps wasps on mud nest in rainforest {Montezumia sp} Costa Rica

PREMAPHOTOS / Potter wasp female building third mud nest in desert. Israel {Delta dimidiatipenne}

PREMAPHOTOS / Potter wasp female building mud nest in desert, Israel {Delta dimidiatipenne}

PREMAPHOTOS / Potter wasp (Delta dimidiatipenne) puts caterpillar prey in nest - food for larva to feed on when it hatches, Israel .

Gerry Ellis / Yellowjacket (Vespinae) group guarding nest entrance, North America

Matthias Breiter / Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) and Dowitcher (Limnodromus sp) on submerged log, Potters Marsh, Anchorage, Alaska

Pete Oxford / Potter working in Potter's Square, Bhaktapur, Nepal.

Bernard Castelein / Loading pots onto boat at jetty Majuli Island, Assam, India

Bernard Castelein / Potter turning clay pot on wheel, Majuli Island, Assam, India

David Fleetham / Potter's angelfish (Centropyge potteri), Hawaii.

Thomas Marent / Purple-edged Copper (Lycaena hippothoe) butterfly male, Alps, Switzerland

Pete Oxford / Wasp (Polybia sp) nest, Yasuni National Park, Amazon Rainforest, Ecuador

Onne van der Wal / River herring: alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis), running up the Pawcatuck River, through the shallow waters of the Potter Fish Hill Ladder, Ashaway, Rhode Island...

Onne van der Wal / River herring: alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis), running up the Pawcatuck River, through the shallow waters of the Potter Fish Hill Ladder, Ashaway, Rhode Island...

Onne van der Wal / River herring: alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis), running up the Pawcatuck River, through the shallow waters of the Potter Fish Hill Ladder, Ashaway, Rhode Island...

Matthias Breiter / American Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) resting on wire during rain storm, delta of Stikine River, Alaska

Premaphotos / Female potter wasp (Vespidae) adding mud to seal of one of her mud pots on a leaf in rainforest, Mexico

Bernard Castelein / Pots waiting to be loaded onto boat at jetty Majuli Island Assam India

Bernard Castelein / Man carries pots to jetty Majuli Island Assam India

Bernard Castelein / Potter Majuli Island Assam India

Nick Upton / Mason wasp / Potter wasp (Ancistrocerus sp.) flying towards nest hole in an insect hotel with a ball of mud in its jaws to seal a nest cell with, Wiltshire garden, UK. July.

Nick Upton / Mason wasp / Potter wasp (Ancistrocerus sp.) sealing its nest hole in an insect hotel with a ball of mud held in its jaws, Wiltshire garden, UK. July.

Nick Upton / Mason wasp / Potter wasp (Ancistrocerus sp.) sealing its nest hole in an insect hotel with a ball of mud held in its jaws, Wiltshire garden, UK. July.

Nick Upton / Mason wasp / Potter wasp (Ancistrocerus sp.) collecting a ball of mud in its jaws to seal up its nest in an insect hotel, Wiltshire garden, UK. July.

Nick Upton / Mason wasp / Potter wasp (Ancistrocerus sp.) female, at entrance to nest in an insect hotel with green caterpillar prey for its larvae to feed on, Wiltshire garden, UK. July.

Nick Upton / Mason wasp / Potter wasp (Ancistrocerus sp.) female, at entrance to nest hole in an insect hotel with a small beetle grub for its larvae to feed on, Wiltshire garden, UK. July.

Nick Upton / Mason wasp / Potter wasp (Ancistrocerus sp.) female, inspecting a nest hole in an insect hotel, Wiltshire garden, UK. July.

Nick Upton / Mason wasp / Potter wasp (Ancistrocerus sp.) entering its nest hole in an insect hotel close to a Wood-carving leafcutter bee (Megachile ligniseca) entering a larger bamboo tube, Wiltshire garden, UK....

Nick Upton / Home-made insect hotel with a range of Bamboo stems and drilled hole sizes for different species, with many completed nests of Wood-carving leafcutter bees (Megachile ligniseca) and a variety of Potte...

Roman Willi / Great potter wasp (Delta unguiculatum) entering frame and building nest, Lucerne, Switzerland, June.

Roman Willi / Great potter wasp (Delta unguiculatum) entering frame and adding material to nest entrance, Lucerne, Switzerland, June.

Roman Willi / Potter wasp (Odynerus spinipes) returning to nest with paralysed caterpillar prey, Lucerne, Switzerland. June.

Roman Willi / Potter wasp (Odynerus spinipes) leaving its nest, Lucerne, Switzerland. June.

Roman Willi / Cuckoo wasp (Chrysis viridula) parasitizing a Potter wasp nest, Lucerne, Switzerland. June.

Roman Willi / Potter wasp (Odynerus spinipes) building a nest in soil, Lucerne, Switzerland. June.

Jiri Lochman / Potter wasp (Delta latreillei) female, building mud nest using water mixed with dirt collected from termite mound, Durba Hills, Little Sandy Desert, Western Australia.

Jiri Lochman / Potter wasp (Delta latreillei) female, collecting soil from freshly built section of a termite mound and mixing it with the water, the wet muddy soil will be used to build the mud nest, Durba Hills, L...

Jiri Lochman / Potter wasp (Delta latreillei) female, placing a moth caterpillar into the mud nest where it will serve as food for the wasp larva, Durba Hills, Little Sandy Desert, Western Australia.

Jiri Lochman / Potter wasp (Delta latreillei) female, building mud nest using water mixed with dirt collected from termite mound, Durba Hills, Little Sandy Desert, Western Australia.