For illustrated talks on natural history and history see www.peterlovetttalks.co.uk

For illustrated talks on natural history and history click here for www.peterlovetttalks.co.uk

Wednesday 20 July 2016

A Common Wasp chewing wood to make a "paper" nest in a domestic garden.


To protect the air quality for my neighbours' lungs in an urban area, I never have bonfires: prunings and branches are piled up to rot naturally.  Common wasps, Vespula vulgaris, are making a nest in there somewhere and one was chewing a dead clipping -- presumably to make new cells from the "paper chewing".  They are fascinating insects.

Wasps may be a pain at a BBQ yet they do great work in the ecosystem in controlling caterpillars.
They are not usually aggressive and I was working today up a ladder a meter from this nest site pruning large tree branches.  I was no threat to them and they didn't sting me.  I was ready to run at any time though! 

 Click on any picture to expand them.











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