A Wasps' Nest

Have you ever wondered how a wasps' nest is built.

If you have seen one which has been vacated, you will be amazed to feel the quality of the fibre created by the wasps, and also see the honeycomb structure where the wasps must be laying their eggs.

The other day, Annikki had a narrow escape when she went to throw two bags of materials for recycling in the trailer. She carefully put the two bags at the bottom of the garden.

When she came back to the spot, there was nothing except a couple of wasps wondering where their houses had vanished.

However, they did not waste much time.

Soon there were dozens of wasps hard at work. We could only see what was happening above the shelf, but it appeared that many tens of wasps were working under the shelf.

Slowly the number of wasps above the shelf diminished as the structure took shape.

The series of pictures below show the progress of the nest above the wooden shelf.

We will get a picture of the intricate construction below when the wasps leave us in late autumn.

 

 

 

 

It was an eye-opening experience which also demonstrated the intelligence of this species!