#Wasp nest

[shiftythrifting]

[the-animal-kingdom]

Did you know, that wasps can create their own paper? This material is what is used to create wasp nests. When a lone Queen wasp finds a good place to build, she begins to chew on wood fibres, mixes it with her saliva and then spits it back out to form walls. The nest starts as a durable, vertical stalk and then she builds an inverted cup shape that has 6 sided cells, as a nursery for larva. She also sprays this first part of the nest with a chemical that is able to repel ants.

When she is done with the first part, the Queen wasp lays eggs in the cells she created and when they then reach adulthood, these worker wasps will then continue to build the nest, allowing for the Queen to resign to egg laying.

It can typically take a hive around 2-4 weeks to build a full, finished nest.

[orofeaiel]

Dogwood Lake Collection Tin: snail shell, feather, deer fur, leaf with black tar spot, crab, Douglas fir with pollen cones, piece of wasp nest, cool rocks.

[coloursoflovelustlife]

New collage material about to be processed ;)

[onenicebugperday]

Behold this truly impressive wasp nest on the 4th floor of a building in Western Montana. I don’t usually see them get this big, especially not in areas with people around, and I am extremely jealous of whoever has that office because they must have a PERFECT view of that nest and got to watch it grow!

I'd spend my work day staring at the wasps and not doing anything else

[richs-pics]

Comings and goings

[jonnysinsectcatalogue]

Wasp Nest (Bald-Faced Hornet)

While I yearn to showcase other types of insect nests found in the natural environment, it seems that all I've been able to easily find are Bald-Faced Hornet nests. Akin to the previous live nest showcase, the nest found here isn’t on my property. I was alerted to the presence of this nest (while only a few feet away) while on a long walk as the sun's heat began to relent. A large returning worker of the colony buzzed past me, flying straight to the entrance hole (which begins as a long, woody tube) at the bottom of the structure! I immediately leapt to the side to put some distance between myself and the nest, especially with the amount of workers at the entrance hole and walking along the nest's surface! They were likely on alert, but not necessarily agitated. Nevertheless, it's for the best not to get any closer to a nest than necessary while unprotected, even to take pictures. With the weather being so warm, I was fairly sweaty that day, and that can be very alluring to Wasps. It sounds strange, but sweat can be a good source of salt (an essential nutrient for a populated colony). That in mind, and given that the nest is just hanging from the tree so close to this house's porch, mailmen and pedestrians should trend carefully, as this large nest likely house hundreds of large Wasp individuals!

Generally speaking, Bald-Faced Hornets construct their nests such that the eventual entrance hole is situated at the bottom of the nest. Many individuals are returning there to prepare for the night's rest, but this nest also appears to have other passages in which Wasps can exit through or patrol. Specifically, the vents that run along the surface towards the top and bottom of the nest. Typically, vents in a structure like this would be used to manage airflow and heat, and provide a refuge to flying workers during rainfall, but it seems that this colony is also using them to allow individuals to navigate through other parts of the nest! While only an educated guess, it is unlikely that the workers would swarm from those ports as the entrance hole is wider with more room to take off immediately, rather than crawl to the nest's outer layer. Finally, it was only once I looked at these pictures at home (with no interference from inquisitive workers) that I noticed the array of colors of this nest. Generally Wasp nests are seen as grey or mottled brown, but the intricacies of this nest make it appear like it was stylized like a water-color painting and added into these pictures. The nest's color may have resulted from the different woods and plant materials gathered to build the nest. If that's the case, the layering work is quite neat and organized. Considering the coordination required of a colony to build the layers, it's a very impressive (and artful) feat!

Pictures were taken on July 28, 2024 with a Google Pixel 4.

[theautismcorner]

Me when I saw this outside of my window this morning

[notjustbees]

"And now, for something completely different."🍄

[nikosdaemon]

Everyone’s favorite wasp nest of a girl <3 I actually love drawing her so much

[csolarstorm]

Today, on bugs I saw:

A tiny wasp's nest! It's got one little larva tenant in it so far.

My mom moved it from the porch to the wall.

*throws it at my opponent in Smash Bros*

[ebenrosetaylor]

I forgot to post these ummmm 😳 Anyways I started an animatic to a Jane Prentiss song that @perennii wrote a while back. Lost the motivation to work on it but the wasp lesbian will always have a special place in my heart <3

ID in ALT!

[entomologize]

Random fact: Vespula Wasps sometimes collect rotten wood pulp for their nest material, adding stripes of rust color to the usual grey fibers.

The nest above is about 7 inches in diameter, but they can get much larger:

Looks like sedimentary rock, doesn't it?

Photos by Jeremy Early, John Brew, and Harry Rutherford.

[coloursoflovelustlife]

SUNFLOWER V

Wasp's nest on canvas.

[Not available]

That's what's happened to the wasp's nest painting. I opted for a rather "traditional" approach to not destroy the focus point of the nest.

[onenicebugperday]

Small green paper wasp, Ropalidia saussurei, Polistinae

Found in Madagascar

Photos by salticids

[blackswallowtailbutterfly]

Wasps

Because they don't get enough love. Unfortunately they are also very fast, which makes getting photos of them difficult, but as you can see, they really like flowers. :)

I've always thought of them as the cool and elegant versions of their fuzzier, cuter cousins. Never hated them, just respected their space. Those that sting (many don't) only do so when they or their nests are threatened, never for nothing. It's just sometimes "nest threatened" means you accidentally hit it with the end of your broom that you were resting against a tree where you had no idea a nest even was...Anyway, many are carnivorous, but they are also pollinators.

All photos mine, unedited. Featured wasps include stump-stabbers (native), yellowjackets (native), bald-faced hornet (native), and others I'm not sure about. Featured flower hosts include swamp milkweed (native), white wood aster (native), and a rhododendron cultivar (not native).

One day I will get a very good photo of one of those gorgeous iridescent blue-black wasps...