|
Post by NellyDee on Oct 26, 2016 11:57:22 GMT
Just had to share this. Found this tiny nest about the size of a £2 coin. Just so beautiful, delicate beyond belief. I have not seen one this size before and was amazed that it survived being blown onto the driveway. Very small wasps?
Tiny wasp Nest by Helen Skelton, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by Tringa on Oct 26, 2016 12:26:44 GMT
I wonder if it was started and then abandoned. I found two wasps nest in a shed and earlier this year wasps were active in both but by mid September both were abandoned.
They are surprisingly strong for such light and seemingly delicate objects.
Dave
|
|
|
Post by Harold Smith on Oct 26, 2016 18:26:59 GMT
I wonder if it was started and then abandoned. I found two wasps nest in a shed and earlier this year wasps were active in both but by mid September both were abandoned. They are surprisingly strong for such light and seemingly delicate objects. Dave I live in a bungalow with a very shallow roof. From the ceiling joists to the top it is about 5ft 6in. On many occasions wasps would start building nests in the loft. Something like 20 or 30 nests over the years. In one year up to five new ones were started. The nests just looked like little light bulbs. But as soon as summer got to its peak and the sun was at its highest the loft would become an oven and the nests would fail. Only once, when the summer was mild, did a nest get as far actually breeding and we could see the wasps entering and leaving the loft under the eaves. However, the weather changed and the loft became an oven again and the nest died. In some ways it is sad that the nests failed. However, despite the low roof height, the loft is used for storage and on occasions it became a problem when we entered the loft the wasps didn't like it very much. Eventually we had to replace all our fascia boards and the wasps could no longer can get in. Regarding the wasps in your shed this is nothing unusual. Wasps will abandon their nests at the end of summer/ beginning of autumn. The workers will disperse and eventually die. The queens will find somewhere to overwinter and in the spring look for somewhere to start a new nest. Wasps do not return to their old nests, they always start a new one. Harold.
|
|
|
Post by rowanberry on Oct 26, 2016 18:52:59 GMT
They are amazing pieces of engineering, aren't they? Did you read about this one that was in the news back in Sept? It was huge, and the wasps had cleverly constructed a tunnel to it so they could get in and out without being seen...it was a metre across! www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-37471529
|
|
|
Post by ayjay on Oct 26, 2016 22:42:42 GMT
I have a wasp's nest in the hedge at the front of my house - to be more precise it's in the ground below the hedge, possibly in an old stump, without prodding it it's difficult to tell as it looks different every day. When I park the car and open the door it covers the gap in the hedge that the wasps use for access, I have to be careful not to shut any inside the car both coming and going. I'm interested to see how cold it gets before all activity ceases. I've not yet managed to identify which wasp it is, they don't hang around for photos, maybe when they slow down some I'll get a better pic. This is my best effort so far - I'm looking at possibly Tree wasp or Norwegian wasp, but I think I need to see a face to have a better chance of an ID.
|
|
|
Post by NellyDee on Oct 27, 2016 8:43:41 GMT
Very few wasps actually seen this year. The nest that was built in the bird house on the veranda seemed to have been abandoned as soon as built. I do think the season up here has been particularly bad for insects.
|
|
|
Post by Tringa on Oct 30, 2016 9:56:04 GMT
Sorry I might have misled you, Harold. I should have explained the nests in the shed more carefully. The nests were started in the early spring but were adandonned before they were completed and were never used. I can't think why, other than they were close to each other and I have heard wasps don't like other nests nearby so perhaps both groups decided to go elsewhere.
Dave
|
|