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The Little Bee Hive

I think wasps get a lot of hatred from their bad reputation and if people knew the good job they did, they would consider them more like bees. I do complete get why you wouldn't want them living in your house though, I think even people who love bees, wouldn't want a hive in their home.
 
We have a lot of wood in the garden that the wasps come and chew bits off for their nests and thats fine, because they also eat aphids and musquitos and the likes in the garden, of which we have plenty in summer. But when one started making a nest in the kids treehouse, I also drew the line. I removed it asap before it could grow big enough. Also had them nesting in between the wooden paneling covering the house a few years back, near a window. Had to exterminate that as they kept flying into the house and buzzing loudly in the early mornings. As said before in this thread, somewhere we draw a line. In summer we also have a lot of hornet visits, those are scary big. Glad they nest further away up in high trees, if one of those nested in the garden or house I'd wet myself.
 
A few years ago Bees took over the Blue tit nest box at the front of the house .Our worry at the time they were all over the front garden and possibility of small children about. The local Bee Society told us they were Bumble Bees quite harmless and by September would vacate the box. Which they did. I have heard that the worst time for wasps is around August in very warm weather as they get agitated
 
Haven't been on the attic a few months and this morning I find this. :woot:

View attachment 156507

And loads of little dead wild bees below it, it's abandoned and empty by now as it seems. Maybe lucky me, not getting there all these months at the hight of the activity. Seeing its size there must have been 1000nds of them if they would have attacked me I wouldn't know where to go.

I'm trying to find a way to preserve this thing and get it down in one piece as much as possible. Yet don't know how hairspray maybe?? It's awfully fragile and thin..
Wow, that has to be the biggest wasps nest I've ever seen. I've found several much smaller wasp's nest over the years during the course of house renovations etc. Probably a different species.

I think wasps get a lot of hatred from their bad reputation and if people knew the good job they did
I think that's true too. They get an enormous amount of bad press. Generally wasps seem to be associated with a great deal of hysteria. Coming from a conservation background I love all gods creatures, except myriapods and slugs and snails :sick:

I once freed a female giant woodwasp, a type of xylophagous sawfly, from under a glass at a kids party. A well meaning parent had fallen for its disguise and mistaken the ovipositor for a stinger and was scared stiff the obviously deranged and psychopathic insect would go on a mad stinging rampage, maiming and grievously injuring innocent children.


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A few years ago Bees took over the Blue tit nest box at the front of the house .Our worry at the time they were all over the front garden and possibility of small children about. The local Bee Society told us they were Bumble Bees quite harmless and by September would vacate the box. Which they did. I have heard that the worst time for wasps is around August in very warm weather as they get agitated
end of summer/early autumn when drunk on rotting fruit and hives are starting to collapse and they are out of a job is when they normally cause the most upset. rest of the time its folks that swat at them etc and wind them up that results in a sting
 
Wow, that has to be the biggest wasps nest I've ever seen. I've found several much smaller wasp's nest over the years during the course of house renovations etc. Probably a different species.

It indeed is a beast... :cool: I've never seen such a big one too... I have 3 options, try to preserve it and remove it. Or keep it hanging where it is. As it seems nests are only used 1 season and never again and also seem to prevent other wasps to use the same area. Or just destroy it with the vacuum cleaner...

Maybe i just leave it as is and see how it goes... I rarely use the attic anyway... But then I will rarely see it.
 
Like the chap on this video? If you can't love them, you can eat them ;)



That guy eating the larvae is quite popular ethnobotanist and wrote fascinating book about living in the nature: On the Wild Side: From the Anthropology of Hunter-Gatherers to Postmodern Foraging


It probably does taste good too... :) But i never did... I once did eat some Hormigas Culonas and they taste similar to salty roasted peanuts. :)

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https://eatyourworld.com/destinations/south_america/colombia/santander/what_to_eat/hormigas_culonas
 
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