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We have had a lovely little bees nest in one of the trees in our garden all summer. We left it alone as it was doing no harm but now the bees have left I thought I would have a closer look. Purely to educate the children, of course.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BbfrBPSK3L7LbiYn8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/VNHHTVZP2akRjwXE8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fmnLUWnD4EyQsmMn7
https://photos.app.goo.gl/xkpmyKdVVuLJshaB7
Nice. Looks more like a wasps nest though. The papery layers are made from wood mixed with spit. Incredible engineering. We have loads in a couple of old wooden outbuildings. I see the wasps stripping wood off the wooden cladding and then taking it to the nest. Over the years they've reduced the thickness of the cladding noticeably in some places! They seldom return to the same nest, so it's safe to remove them at the end of the year.
We keep bees too. Honey bees in the wild nest in tree hollows, they don't build an external nest structure like that. Most other bee species are not social so don't build big nests.
Pretty sure that's a wasp nest.
But they are amazing structures.
Even though it is probably is a wasps nest, you did well to leave it be whilst it was in use. Wasps get a bad rap but they are really important pollinators, especially as most bees are having a hard time with many species in decline. They are also voracious predators of garden pests. They only become a nuisance right at the end of the colony's life when they are homeless and about to die off. That's when they are a pain at barbecues etc. but it's only for a short while. Most of the time they are no bother and keep away from people unless you disturb the nest. They can be an issue for beekeepers, we have lost one hive to wasps this year, but the hive was weak for other reasons which didn't help. A lot of waffle, but basically "well done" for not having a knee jerk reaction to destroy the nest like most people seem to do.
Often I see a hole in the ground where badgers have dug out a wasps nest.
Theres a couple of trees nearby which have bees nests,one is disused this year, I dont know whether they will use it again
I agree that it looks like a wasps nest. It is indeed a work of art.
Nature is absolutely wonderful. To think the wasp can have the patience and hard graft to make that structure from its tiny mouth is amazing.
We've got wasps nesting in the porch. As mentioned we'll leave them alone as they are such an important part of the eco system.
Often I see a hole in the ground where badgers have dug out a wasps nest.
That's why you shouldn't thrash your arms around when a wasp gets too near. They apparently take the thrashing arms and increased CO2 output as a badger attack
Wasps nests are fascinating, they resemble a multi-storey car park inside
the patience and hard graft
Anthropomorphising much? 😛 I think it's just part and parcel of "being a wasp".
Yep that's a wasps nest, I had to remove one from under my bike cover that's over the bike I keep at the caravan.
Given who the OP is, I was expecting a story with far more drama TBH.
Given who the OP is, I was expecting a story with far more drama TBH.
There's a squirrel drey just out of shot, which is the real reason he was up there 😉
Has that nest been abandoned already? I have a wasps nest about that size in my garage and I thought it wouldn't go until the first frost?
Wasps started nest building early this year so their life span is about up in those cases. I’m allergic to stings so was lucky to get away with treading on a nest whilst hedge cutting. Whilst I was observing the activity I saw a very large wasp like insect sitting very still and watching the wasps. I immediately thought “hornet” but looked it up and it’s a hoverfly mimicking something nasty!