Taexalia

wild.life

Wasp Architecture

Wasp Bike

We found this beauty as we took a walk out towards the Crow Tree. We have not taken this path much this summer, and the hound and I forgive ourselves as we would have been walking within two feet of this wasp haven.

It is empty and I taken the opportunity for a closer look - I have never seen a wasp's nest at close range before. I wonder at the two gaping holes - were they part of the design, or did some other creature burst in? Has this nest been abandoned as part of the natural cycle, or were they victimised as the evil pests most people choose to see.

I marvel at the craft that went into making this, the beautiful colouring in the paper they made and the geometric shapes of the honeycomb inside. I think of all the things that wasps dine on - ants, caterpillars, aphids and beetles and I see them as natural pest control and far more worthy than a bottle of Bayer neonictinoid pesticide - a product now increasingly linked to bee decline.

Wasps, like bees, are pollinators - we need them too.

Wasp Bike Honeycomb