Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

Gnawy

Dolichovespula maculataBald-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) cutting away at the black locust hand-rails at the Native Plant Garden at NYBG.Dolichovespula maculataLook at those mandibles! Several hundred workers in a colony will build up those football-sized nests so beloved by nature bloggers from wood pulp and saliva; it looks like a lot of work, because it doesn’t seem like much wood is taken by each individual wasp:IMG_6113Dolichovespula maculata

mthew

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2 responses to “Gnawy”

  1. Revealed | Backyard and Beyond

    […] paper made by Dolichovespula maculata hornets, who scape dead trees (or fence posts!) with their mighty jaws, has been stripped off by the weather. Horizontal layers of comb are revealed within. And […]

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  2. Pulp Nonfiction | Backyard and Beyond

    […] At 10x magnification, you really begin to see the tiny fibers of wood pulp, so painstakingly gathered. […]

    Reply

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