Potter wasp Paralastor sp. and East Australian Masked Bee Hylaeus (Hylaeorhiza) nubilosus activity in a vespiary at Notting Hill, Victoria.

This article documents the long-term observation of a potter wasp (Paralastor sp.) constructing and using a clay vespiary on a garage door in Notting Hill, Victoria, from early 2021 to late 2023. The vespiary, featuring a distinctive down-curved tubular entrance, was repeatedly used and resealed over time, with cells opening after varying intervals. In January 2023, the East Australian Masked Bee (Hylaeus [Hylaeorhiza] nubilosus), a species originally native to eastern Australia but now established in Western Australia, was observed nesting in the abandoned wasp cells. Later in 2023, an unidentified small black and yellow hymenopteran insect also sealed the vespiary cells. The study highlights the vespiary’s role as a nesting site for multiple hymenopteran species over an extended period.