Zimmerman's Mud-dauber Wasp

Chalybion zimmermanni · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Sphecidae

Also called: Zimmermann's Mud Wasp

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Zimmerman's Mud-dauber Wasp
Photo: James Todd McCann, CC BY

Zimmerman's mud-dauber wasp lives across North America and its nominate subspecies ranges from the southeastern United States to Arizona. It is a thread-waisted wasp belonging to the family Sphecidae.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It occurs throughout North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

The nominate subspecies is found from the southeastern United States to Arizona.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 19 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, Alabama, Virginia, Georgia, Mississippi.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Months it is reported in the US

JFMAMJJASOND

Source: GBIF

More photos

Zimmerman's Mud-dauber Wasp photo 2
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0
Zimmerman's Mud-dauber Wasp photo 3
Photo: Morgan Hay, CC BY
Zimmerman's Mud-dauber Wasp photo 4
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0
Zimmerman's Mud-dauber Wasp photo 5
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0

Same family (Sphecidae)

Yellow-legged Mud-dauber WaspYellow-legged Mud-dauber WaspSceliphron caementariumCan stingCommon Blue Mud-dauber WaspCommon Blue Mud-dauber WaspChalybion californicumCan stingGreat Golden Digger WaspGreat Golden Digger WaspSphex ichneumoneusGreat Black Digger WaspGreat Black Digger WaspSphex pensylvanicusCan stingGold-marked Thread-waisted WaspGold-marked Thread-waisted WaspEremnophila aureonotataMexican Grass-carrying WaspMexican Grass-carrying WaspIsodontia mexicana

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalybion_zimmermanni

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-25 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-25.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.