Ok, the very last wasp photos, I promise.
Now surely you can see how beautiful she is? How extraordinarily fragile? And how dedicated to her young? In these pix she is building the top wing of the children’s nursery. In the top photo, an enlargement of the one to the right, she is moulding the entrance hole…
This is one of the Solitary Wasps – not to be confused with the Social Wasps, which are the scary ones, and which I have been stung by – 30+ stings in a single attack – and one species of which I have developed an allergic reaction to (fortunately not the aforementioned that swarmed in fury when their nest was accidentally disturbed by someone else. An attack that resulted in my losing a shoe in mangrove mud and having to bathe in an irrigation/drainage ditch…but that’s another story.)
I suspect this is a Eumenidae, some of which are called potter wasps because of their gorgeous pot-shaped nets. We have those around the house too. This one here though is possibly Eustenogaster calyptodoma. Any wasp folk out there can confirm?
i know little of hymenopterans, but a friend has a website that's useful: http://www.vespa-bicolor.net
The thing is Glenda, I am not disputing the interest or the cleverness of the wasp in building, what I am disputing is the location. Your house, etc. but I am damned if I would allow a wasp's nest to be built anywhere inside where I lived. And no, I don't think she is beautiful. Sorry. Guess I am just not into insects much.
Oh she's lovely. You know I'd do exactly what you've done but I suspect one day I'd come home and it would have mysteriously disappeared.
Thanks, Budak…interesting site, but was unable to confirm the sp.
Never mind, Jo; she's finally stopped building, the nest is now all closed up, and I think I will remove it and place it outside before the youngsters emerge.
Well I hope she doesn't object and that you wear gloves and maybe something covering your face.
I don't like to kill things either, but in my house!!!!
Hi,
I have noticed a wasp nest built-up in my wooden drawer (there is a small whole which they use for entry/exit)inside my hostel room. I guess there may be around 15 wasps residing there. They haven't harmed me as such but I wonder what would happen when I vacate this room towards end of this month and someone else comes in!! Second, I keep the door always open – that provide the wasps to roam around. Otherwise you see loads of them hovering in the room waiting to exit:)
Look forward to your advice.
Thanks,
M
from a B-school hostel in Gurgaon (New Delhi)
manoj.k8@gmail.com