While eating dinner outside tonight Jeremy noticed something different in one of the trees. We have lots of trees so I didn't notice it right away, but once he pointed it out I wondered how I could have missed it. Some sort of a new nest of pets in the yard! We decided we need to buy binoculars, maybe at Christmas time... Instead we grabbed the camera with the long lens. Looks like we have a very large paper wasp nest in our tree. Eeek! (was my initial reaction)
After some research here and here I am less annoyed that the wasps picked our yard to build their nest. It's pretty cool to look at the close up pictures, how delicate but strong their little structures are. Also, I haven't even seen a wasp in our yard all summer so I don't feel like they are a threat to us. From what I read, it sounds like they help with pollination and pest control, so I guess we'll keep them around. I'll just watch the trees closer next summer so I am aware of where they are nesting.
 |
| Can you spot it!? |
 |
| Look closer.... |
 |
| Here it is! It is built right through the branch, possibly to hold it up better against wind. |
 |
| From what I read, the wasps won't nest here again next year. So I'm hoping at some point it falls down... softly, so we can get a closer look. |
 |
| Here is our Mason Bee house. My sister gave me this last year and we had some find it! The holes used were completely covered over a week or so ago. I can only assume whatever was laid in the house hatched but I need to do some more reading on these little fellas too. |
So far, the best information I have been able to get on, well, everything is from The University of Minnesota Extension Department. Great Minnesota information that is easy to read and understand. Considering I'm new to the garden and forest in my backyard, I can use all the help I can get!
8 comments:
Wow! That's quite a nest! I learned WAY more about wasps than I ever wanted to know last summer when I got stung 5 times in 10 days. My whole leg swelled up like a sweet potato and I had to be on steroids for several weeks.
So here's what I know (which is still precious little). Paper wasps are generally harmless. They won't go out of their way to sting you. They also won't build a nest near another nest, so they actually sell fake paper wasp nests that you can hang in your trees to discourage them from settling there.
Yellow jackets, on the other hand, are quite aggressive and will sting with very little provocation. They generally build their nests in the ground (or in my case on the under side of the lawn chair by my back door - hence the multiple stings.) They also can sting numerous times without dying (unlike bees) and if you kill one it releases attack pheromones so that all of the other yellow jackets come to attack whatever killed the first one (um... learned that lesson the hard way.)
Anyhow, yellow jackets are best trapped with a pheromone trap and even though I hate to kill even an insect, they can be quite dangerous so you generally don't want to mess around with them.
Good luck!
My goodness, 5 times in 10 days?! And wow about the phermones, I had no idea. Yikes, scary little buggers.
I haven't seen one in the yard or gardens yet but I will be keeping a closer eye out now. I agree with you, I don't like killing insects if I don't have to but we are outside a lot. If they become an issue I will not have a problem trying to get rid of them.
Thanks for the info about the nest. I hope this one stays up in the tree, so they are a little furhter away from the yard next year.
I enjoyed your post and really like the mason bee house. It really has a pretty look for the garden.
We have had two of these in the yard in the past couple of years. One, we left alone because it was not in an area that presented a threat. It fell because it got too large, and the wasps were very aggressive and protective for about two weeks...I suppose as they gathered everything together to a new spot. The other one was in our side yard and close to our neighbor's house. I got stung once as I approached it, but if I stayed on the walking path just a few feet away they did not bother me. However, our neighbor was having a graduation party, and we had to remove it. The nests are so beautiful, in a way. It is amazing how they create them.
I think the paper wasp nest is beautiful and awesome. After a hard frost kills the wasps, you can take down that nest and use it as an interesting decoration on your fireplace mantel.
You can build your own bee nest with some old-fashioned paper straws bundled together. I have looked over and kind find them tough, only the plastic ones, which apparently bees don't like.
It's usually right around this time of year, late summer, when I inadvertently step on a ground wasp nest and get stung. The swelling lasts for over a week. Major nasty.
Wow, that sentence was mangled. I meant to say, I have looked all over and can't find the paper straws, just the plastic ones....
We had a wasp byke in one of our cold frames this year. It was not very big and appeared to be empty. The next day it had disappeared before I could get another look at it. Clever creatures these wasps.
Wasps are pretty sneaky! We didn't notice the nest at all, so I can't begin to imagine when they started building it. I also haven't seen any in the yard but can see them when I get the camera out and zoom in on the next. Pretty cool to watch!
Post a Comment