Pic 1: Zethus slossonae constructing her nest while a male Pachodynerus erynnis looks on. The nest is chewed out in a dead and severed frond of Cabbage Palm, Sabal palmetto. I did not discover her until she was in the next, so it is not clear if she constructed it or took over a previously used one. In any case, two days later (pics 2 & 3) she was hauling out and disposing of freshly chewed woody frond fibers. Pic 4 shows her leaving the nest which she did repeatedly but never returned with caterpillars during the 40 minutes of observation.
A University of Florida webpage http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/MISC/WASPS/Pachodynerus_erynnis.html cites old nests of Zeta argillaceum as being favored nesting sites for P. erynnis. I've previously documented that species on the preserve and this Zethus is of course related. However, this Pachodynerus is a male so it is not clear why he hung around. Every time the Zethus flew away, he would zip over and poke his head in, although he never went inside. He did not reappear the second day. Simple curiousity, perhaps, but still intriguing.