> > > > Kel"wondering if the international folks on the forum know what a dirt-dobber is"ly

> > > You mean a mud-dauber? Aren't those the kind of wasps that build their nests out of dried mud? We have a problem with them building nests on our front porch every summer.
> > >
> > > Gri"they like to build in corners"shny

> mud-daubers build their mud-nests...well, not exacltly hanging from something, but sort of attached. It almost looks as if someone took a glob of wet mud, threw it into the corner where a wall meets a ceiling or windowsill, and let it dry there. Only it has little holes for the wasps to get in and out. Obviously not the same as one of your dirt-dobbers.
>

There seems to be several tens of thousands of different wasp species, including hornets (which are actually wasps). I wasn't able to find out the name of the species I have -- mine are (or were) black and yellow striped instead of white and black, and they were also rather small... about one centimeter long, instead of the behemoths in the picture books. So the different types of mud-daubers appear to make nests that are either organ-pipes, or shaped like potters, or they even dig holes through masonry. I'm pretty sure I had a kid's book at one point which also described "mud wasps" as ground-dwellers.

The gardening site, below, describes organ-pipe mud-daubers as being very docile, and great to have around because their favorite food is black widow spiders! Another thing it mentions is that mud-daubers will move if you give them a better place to hide -- like behind a piece of old plywood leaning against a fence. They'll nest on the darkened side and you won't have to look at them or their mud pies.