It’s the time of year to spot the paper nests of Bald-faced Hornets. 
They usually build their nests in trees. Winter weather often destroys them and/or brings them down to the ground, like this one. 
But this one looks to be in excellent shape. However, it won’t be reused; the colony is gone, having only lived over the course of summer. Only the queen survives. She over-winters somewhere, perhaps behind the bark of a tree.
But wait. Did you notice that hole in the glass behind the bars, visible in the first picture above? 
Mud-daubbing wasps have gotten in to build their nests of mud. These round holes are where the adult wasps dug their way out of their mud-encased cocoons, probably last August. 
This one, however, looks like it was never sealed off. Nor filled with spiders.
Nestled Nests
Published January 10, 2019 Fieldnotes 3 CommentsTags: Brooklyn, insects, invertebrates, wasps
HI Matthew,
First of all, thank you for these observations. Your shots with your new camera are both artistic and clear.
Where is this place? Is it a church or a mausoleum in Green-Wood Cemetery? Wherever it is, it is very old and looks something from a Gothic horror story.
A mausoleum in Green-Wood.
For those who don’t know, G-W is littered with such little houses of the dead. Most are actually quite modest, as mausoleums go (!). For more elaborate ones, check out Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, where the robber barons met their rewards.
Oh, thank you!