The other day I went to visit the hubby in ManLand (aka the detached garage). As I left the building I heard some buzzing about. Mind you I had been gone for 5 days. I hadn’t been paying attention to my surroundings much since I had been back, but I really should have noticed what I saw. And it’s a wonder that Adam didn’t notice considering that ManLand is his personal sanctuary.
Right above the door, was a giant wasp (hornet?) nest.
So perhaps the nests do get bigger, and I’m exaggerating about the giant size. But this was a fully developed hive. And it had grown right over our heads.
I do actually kind of admire the delicate beauty of the design though. They did a lovely job building a home.
Too bad that home is made of paper.
I went inside. A few minutes later my husband comes running in, disheveled and excited, “I threw a shovel at them and ran”.
“A Shovel???”
“Well I didn’t know what else to do to get rid of hundreds of angry hornets.”
The next morning I went out to inspect the damage.
The hive was still going.
Even with half of their papery hive on the ground.
The wasps were still caring for their young and rebuilding their home. It was a little interesting to watch the inner functions of an established hive.
The details of a hive can be so interesting.
By the next day the hive was already well into it’s reconstruction phase.
And the leftover pieces of the hive on the ground were showing their biodegradable properties.
The hubby still has not eliminated them. He’s done a great deal to anger them, but I think he forgot about the wasps for the most part.
One last detail is the little abandoned mini hive next to be big one.
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That is a HUGE wasp nest. I’m allergic to wasps so I am terribly afraid of them. But I do respect them. Their hives are so amazing an really symetrical. I can truly appreciate their precise engineering.
Wow! That is really neat. We don’t get big huge wasp houses like that in Kansas, not that I’ve seen anyway. Just the little nests. It’s pretty cool that while the paper is fragile enough to break down when it’s on the ground without a purpose, it is still sort of “living” and while it’s doing its function as a house.
As much as I dislike wasps, seeing the inside of their nest and how they build it is really cool. The engineer in me is quite excited at this moment.
Once you get rid of the nest, apparently hanging a paper bag on a string is a good deterent to prevent them from rebuilding. (I learned this from one of those historical village/attraction things.)
Nature does sometimes really pull out the nerd in me.
Between Jes (http://jesthebes.com), you and me we should start a young female bloggers interested in engineering club
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We totally should! It would be awesome!