Wasp nest

Suzanne B · #1 (**permalink**) 16-10-2009, 08:51 PM

My nan recently had a wasp nest in her loft. It only came to light when she was having some cavity wall insulation put in and the banging must have annoyed the wasps and her neighbour ( yes it probably annoyed him too

) spotted them flying out from the roof. Unfortunately she had to get someone in to deal with the wasps but later my dad went up into the loft and managed to get these out. I think there was a bigger nest there but these were sort of dangling on stalks off it.
I just thought I'd put these on as they weren't like I expected them to be at all and were so small, light and delicate and felt like they were made from very, very fine paper so I thought it would be quite interesting to show them.

Suzanne

goosey · #2 (**permalink**) 16-10-2009, 09:17 PM

I have never seen anything like them before, not what I would have expected either.
Interesting that these should be hanging off the main nest - I wonder what the reason for that is?
What are those black things in the little cells in image 3?

Thanks Suzanne for putting these on, great post

.

Suzanne B · #3 (**permalink**) 16-10-2009, 09:22 PM

Thanks goosey.

I really don't know what those black things are. I did wonder if they were dead wasps or maybe the residue of whatever's used to get rid of the wasps.
Any ideas anyone?

charlieb · #4 (**permalink**) 17-10-2009, 03:48 PM

Dead grubs?

paul m · #5 (**permalink**) 17-10-2009, 04:47 PM

Yes, if within the cells then they would be developing larvae or maybe pupae.
I've not heard of small 'satellite' colonies - unless they were 'restarts' because the main colony had died? Seems very unlikely. I wonder if they were a different species - I've not seen a common wasp colony of this size .... but then I don't usually notice them until they're huge!

reninfrance · #6 (**permalink**) 17-10-2009, 09:46 PM

on the theme of wasps -

I have noticed about a dozen or so hornets feeding on various ripe fruits in the garden.

I presume that they are from the same colony (not yet found the source). How far do they travel to feed and will they all overwinter?

Should I expect to be inundated by hornets next summer?
photo.php/photo/9864]

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My husband feels that they are a danger in the garden but I find them much less intrusive than common wasps and even he agrees that on closer inspection they are quite beautiful.
Can anyone tell me more about these suposedly terrifying insects?
thanks ren

paul m · #7 (**permalink**) 18-10-2009, 09:12 AM

They're no more (nor less) aggressive than common wasps: it's just that they look more fearsome! They'll do you no harm as long as you don't interfere with them or, especially, their colony. Only a few fertilised queens overwinter and most of them don't survive so I wouldn't worry too much about next year unless you know you have a 'nest' in your loft or elsewhere in the house - in which case destroy it in the winter (when the hornets have left/died) and block the access.

More worrying is Dolichovespula media (whose queen resembles a hornet) which can be aggressive for no obvious reason!

BBC NEWS | Health | Life-threatening wasp stings boom

Quote:

Originally Posted by reninfrance

on the theme of wasps -

I have noticed about a dozen or so hornets feeding on various ripe fruits in the garden.

I presume that they are from the same colony (not yet found the source). How far do they travel to feed and will they all overwinter?

Should I expect to be inundated by hornets next summer?
photo.php/photo/9864]

[/url]
My husband feels that they are a danger in the garden but I find them much less intrusive than common wasps and even he agrees that on closer inspection they are quite beautiful.
Can anyone tell me more about these suposedly terrifying insects?
thanks ren

paul m · #8 (**permalink**) 18-10-2009, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suzanne B

.............these were sort of dangling on stalks off it.
I just thought I'd put these on as they weren't like I expected them to be at all and were so small, light and delicate and felt like they were made from very, very fine paper so I thought it would be quite interesting to show them.

.........................Suzanne

Of course paper wasps, Polistes spp, make small nests of fine paper on stalks but they don't (to best of my knowledge) have the same shape as your Nan's ... e.g.
Polistes nest 2004 Adam Siegel pictures from north america photos on webshots

JRsbugs · #9 (**permalink**) 20-10-2009, 01:57 PM

I wonder if this is a Dolichovespula nest, I have both D. media and D. saxonica visit my garden but D. media has a long tubular entrance at the bottom. D. media will not be about now though, not sure about D. saxonica. A few years ago there was a similar small nest in the garage which was accidentally disturbed, but didn't have anything in it at the time.

I always think it's a shame when news stories scare people into thinking they have to get rid of wasps, I stand amongst them taking pics while they feed on Ivy and they take no notice of me. They will die off in the winter, with only the queen overwintering and as Paul says not all will survive.

Wasps do have their uses, although I hate to put anything into categories of use to justify their existence on this planet. Far better to observe and enjoy them.

Janet

goosey · #10 (**permalink**) 20-10-2009, 06:35 PM

Funny how things happens, four days ago when this thread started I had never seen a wasps nest before, then today I found the remains of one. If it hadn't been for this thread I probably wouldn't have registered what it even was.
I think it must have fallen from the beech tree I found it under, hence it was in several pieces. It would have been larger than Suzannes, the larger bit I found was 15cm across (this was the cell part, the papery bit spread out further), the back was papery and flaky like filo pastry on one bit, but on a smaller bit it was more textured with the cell form showing through to an extent.

Tynanatior · #11 (**permalink**) 20-10-2009, 09:10 PM

thats a problem how old is the nest

goosey · #12 (**permalink**) 20-10-2009, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tynanatior

thats a problem how old is the nest

Yep, it looks as if it is old and the wasps had already deserted it.
I wasn't really expecting an ID to which type of wasp made it, I just thought it was topical after Suzanne's post and I would show my find too.

Suzanne B · #13 (**permalink**) 23-10-2009, 02:01 PM

What an interesting find goosey. It's amazing how papery they are isn't it and not at all what you expect them to be like.
Anyway, well spotted and another thing to tick off your list.

(even though it probably wasn't even on it.

)

Suzanne B · #14 (**permalink**) 23-10-2009, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paul m

Yes, if within the cells then they would be developing larvae or maybe pupae.
I've not heard of small 'satellite' colonies - unless they were 'restarts' because the main colony had died? Seems very unlikely. I wonder if they were a different species - I've not seen a common wasp colony of this size .... but then I don't usually notice them until they're huge!

I'm not really sure what was happening in the loft as they were in a 'hard to get at' place and my dad couldn't get a good view.
We were just thinking back to the summer and although my nan wasn't plagued with wasps and she never saw any live ones, she kept finding dead ones in the house. I must admit that has us a bit confused.