Its getting Springier!

[B+.]

Crickey! There are more weather forecasters here than work for the Met Office!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The Met office have weather forecasters

Just an update here - miserable drizzle and a brisk Westerly wind.
Today I shall be mostly wearing a jumper

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes. Husband is back into long pants.....from the shorts he foolishly declared was normal attire till October.

 

[madasafish]

Yes. Husband is back into long pants.....from the shorts he foolishly declared was normal attire till October.

Crickey! There are more weather forecasters here than work for the Met Office!

The weather forecasters here are all pants and no trousers...

 

[bontbee]

she found the shed on Sunday, and this was this morning. Isn't it beautiful.

I don't know when the eggs were laid, but they look huge! (At least, I'm assuming they are eggs...Karol???)


Sorry, it's not a brilliant quality pic...

 

[Erichalfbee]

Absolutely lovely.
I'm glad you are not squirting powder,foam or napalm on it

 

[B+.]

I don't know when the eggs were laid, but they look huge! (At least, I'm assuming they are eggs...Karol???).

Is it a wasp or hornet?
Either way, I wouldn't want it in my shed

 

[MikeT]

she found the shed on Sunday, and this was this morning. Isn't it beautiful.

I don't know when the eggs were laid, but they look huge! (At least, I'm assuming they are eggs...Karol???)


Sorry, it's not a brilliant quality pic...

Looks like the start of a wasp nest, I had one in my shed, now converted into my bee shed. I will take a photo of my small wasp nest which is on my office shelf.

Mike

 

[jonnybeegood]

So many shrubs flowering in peoples gardens on the way to work, especially Forsythia. Here spring feels like watching a boiling kettle!

 

[bontbee]

Is it a wasp or hornet?
Either way, I wouldn't want it in my shed

It's a wasp. She was busily building above my head yesterday, as I was cleaning frames up.
Here are some more pics - compared to the first pics, you can see how she had developed the cells.

She spent quite a bit of time curled around the top of the nest like this - breathing very rapidly. I don't know if she was resting, or brooding, or both! It was very warm in the shed at the time, and given the relatively long periods of she spent away, presumably foraging* and wood collecting, I'm not sure if the eggs need brooding...certainly not at the temperature bees do. (I hope Karol might pop in with further info).

*Does the queen actually forage for food when she starts the nest, or does she live on fat reserves? I know that the larvae feed her, but does she have time to feed when she has to get the nest going asap?

I am not sure what to do with the nest - I would love to watch its development: I could ban myself from the shed for the summer or, perhaps wear a beesuit when I'm in there. I'm not concerned that they will bother the bees - I keep strong colonies, generally on small entrances, but the neighbours do have children who like to play in the garden! Perhaps it would be best to destroy it now, and give her chance to found a nest elsewhere - to destroy it when the workers start emerging seems even more heartless. ..Perhaps the spiders (the size of dinner plates) also in the shed will do the deed for me by catching her. (There are two spider nurseries about 18" away).

I am sure that the prudent thing to do would be to destroy it...and her? Any suggestions for my dilemma??? (I've got my ear plugs in as I suspect the majority won't consider it a dilemma, and the response is likely to be deafening.....!)

 

[thenovice]

Burn the shed .

If you are not bothered, I do not see why you would destroy it. there will be plenty of nests in the neighborhood that could also sting kids.

the nest can however become very big over summer. Make sure it is not in the way of your activities.

 

[bontbee]

Burn the shed .

Thanks tn, hadn't thought of that one!

They are likely to be an inconvenience as it's my "workshop", but what an opportunity to watch a nest develop! My main concern is the kids next door - as you say, it's likely to get quite big and it'll be difficult to deny the traffic in and out of the shed. Mind, my neighbours don't seem to notice anything very natural, so if a wasp did sting them, it would be one of my bees!!

 

[pargyle]

Burn the shed .

If you are not bothered, I do not see why you would destroy it. there will be plenty of nests in the neighborhood that could also sting kids.

the nest can however become very big over summer. Make sure it is not in the way of your activities.

I have a picture somewhere but can't find it ... had a nest in my second loft two years ago which ended up nearly 3 feet across ! An absolute work of art ... I didn't know it was there until I went up in the autumn by which time they had all gone - it's a small and not very useful loft so I don't often go up there. We noticed more wasps about than usual but they didn't unduly bother us or the bees. What I would be concerned about is the size the nest will grow to - very quickly - and what you would have to do to get rid of it when it reaches full size - and where all those homeless wasps would go.

I think you have two choices ... Kill her, give the nest to a school to look at. Or catch her and take her 10 miles away before release and let her bother someone else.

 

[jonnybeegood]

It's a wasp. She was busily building above my head yesterday, as I was cleaning frames up.
Here are some more pics - compared to the first pics, you can see how she had developed the cells.

She spent quite a bit of time curled around the top of the nest like this - breathing very rapidly. I don't know if she was resting, or brooding, or both! It was very warm in the shed at the time, and given the relatively long periods of she spent away, presumably foraging* and wood collecting, I'm not sure if the eggs need brooding...certainly not at the temperature bees do. (I hope Karol might pop in with further info).

*Does the queen actually forage for food when she starts the nest, or does she live on fat reserves? I know that the larvae feed her, but does she have time to feed when she has to get the nest going asap?

I am not sure what to do with the nest - I would love to watch its development: I could ban myself from the shed for the summer or, perhaps wear a beesuit when I'm in there. I'm not concerned that they will bother the bees - I keep strong colonies, generally on small entrances, but the neighbours do have children who like to play in the garden! Perhaps it would be best to destroy it now, and give her chance to found a nest elsewhere - to destroy it when the workers start emerging seems even more heartless. ..Perhaps the spiders (the size of dinner plates) also in the shed will do the deed for me by catching her. (There are two spider nurseries about 18" away).

I am sure that the prudent thing to do would be to destroy it...and her? Any suggestions for my dilemma??? (I've got my ear plugs in as I suspect the majority won't consider it a dilemma, and the response is likely to be deafening.....!)

At least if a kid gets stung by one of your bees you could say no, it was more likely a wasp & get away with it ? You could then say youve just discovered a wasp nest in the shed.
Maybe if you go late evening you could take down the whole thing & queen to take elsewhere? I would love the chance to watch that develop, you could take a time lapse photo twice a day until its finished &have a lovely nest to keep come winter. Think of the pests they will eat & plants they will pollinate in your garden

 

[B+.]

My main concern is the kids next door

kids trump a wasp nest IMHO

It will only get bigger as the summer progesses, and by that point, it may be quite scary to be near. It is better to destroy the nest. You can satisfy your curiosity with a Youtube video. I even did the search for you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG2ta-Clyz0#t=13

 

[bontbee]

Thanks for the replies and for the video link, B+. I often watch wasps chewing wood off the shed - I usually hear them before I see them. I once heard a rasping and realised that a wasp was chewing a chunk off the ham in my sandwich! Absolutely fascinating to watch.

I am one of the few on this forum that defends wasps and query the need to destroy on sight! I often get called out to "bees" which turn out to be wasps. If they are not in a well used place I try to persuade the householder to keep them - pest control being one of the main positives, and by explaining that the nest won't persist forever. The vast majority are happy to do so. (I always give my number so that they can call me back at a later date, if they feel it's necessary).

If I was called out to a nest in this location in someone else's garden I would, however, destroy - or in this early stage catch the queen and relocate. Because it is in my shed, and I am not disturbed by the prospect of sharing it with them for a season, I am torn. I know that the neighbours' kids could be stung by anything but I think I might be being selfish in wanting to keep a nest here.

 

[jonnybeegood]

Thanks for the replies and for the video link, B+. I often watch wasps chewing wood off the shed - I usually hear them before I see them. I once heard a rasping and realised that a wasp was chewing a chunk off the ham in my sandwich! Absolutely fascinating to watch.

I am one of the few on this forum that defends wasps and query the need to destroy on sight! I often get called out to "bees" which turn out to be wasps. If they are not in a well used place I try to persuade the householder to keep them - pest control being one of the main positives, and by explaining that the nest won't persist forever. The vast majority are happy to do so. (I always give my number so that they can call me back at a later date, if they feel it's necessary).

If I was called out to a nest in this location in someone else's garden I would, however, destroy - or in this early stage catch the queen and relocate. Because it is in my shed, and I am not disturbed by the prospect of sharing it with them for a season, I am torn. I know that the neighbours' kids could be stung by anything but I think I might be being selfish in wanting to keep a nest here.

yes but is it not more selfish to get rid of them because they "might" sting a child? I know its a dilemma & kids should come first but we all got stung as a child, its a way of learning to keep away from them, its not as if they are Africanised bees & might attack en mass. you could always ask your neighbour if you could show the kids & educate them?

 

[alldigging]

yes but is it not more selfish to get rid of them because they "might" sting a child? I know its a dilemma & kids should come first but we all got stung as a child, its a way of learning to keep away from them, its not as if they are Africanised bees & might attack en mass. you could always ask your neighbour if you could show the kids & educate them?

Wasps are a pest to humans. So treat them like one. They don't even make marmite you know.

 

[jonnybeegood]

Ash tree buds opening here, horse chestnut leaf buds opening too, yet the sloes have been knocked back, we need some shn here :-(

 

[MikeT]

Apart from the fact that wasps sting and bite (It is estimated that between 4 to 8 out of every 1000 people are at serious risk from wasp stings), they can also cause other problems.
•Wasps scavenge in faeces, which means they are prime carriers of disease, especially where they come into contact with human food.
•During nest building, wasps cause damage to timber and trees which they use for making their wood pulp paper nests. Have caused problems in damaging roof structures.
•Wasps will attack bee hives and kill bees. We have all seen blogs on this on this forum.
•In late summer and throughout autumn, wasps do untold damage to fruit crops. They are a serious problem to fruit pickers especially in plums, cherries and soft fruit plantations. This is a serious consideration in orchards and soft fruit plantations for health and safety of the fruit pickers and growers must show due diligence in the safety of their workers.

They can be a benefit in certain circumstances but this is far out weighed by the damage they do, they should be controlled where a problem exists, leave alone where they will not cause problems.