Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Paper wasp nest

Things in our garden are never dull - nature always amazes us.

There has been a large paper wasp nest high up in a Kauri tree that we have been watching develop over a couple of years at least. It looked really precarious and it was only a matter of time before gravity won and it fell down.   This occurred yesterday and  here is the photo of the nest.  It is  40cm x 25cm x 25cm  in a rough cone shape. The combs are visible at one end but most of it is enclosed in a papery covering.

According to the CSIRO fact sheet the paper is a mixture of wasp saliva and wood fibres.  They predate on aphids and caterpillars so I don't mind them around, however they have a nasty sting to them.

I am not sure what variety of paper wasp it is - I hope it is a native one though.  They are still hovering around where the nest was attached so maybe they will rebuild.


Tom

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