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.”

Paper Nests

In a Black Cherry.
In a Horsechestnut.
In a Sweetgum.
The biggest yet, in a linden.

Bald-faced Hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) nests in Green-Wood are being revealed by the falling leaves. I’ve walked under these all summer without noticing them.

This is a fly, but it’s next to the marks of paper-making wasp.
This wooden slat-fence at Bush Terminal is all scrapped up by wasps who gnaw up wood fibers to make their paper.
Some of that paper. The nests will start coming down in bad weather. I found this scrap this weekend.
Bald-faced Hornet is most common here, but Common Aerial Yellowjacket (Dolichovespula arenaria) can also be found. This is the only definite example of D. arenaria nest I’ve seen here in Brooklyn.

mthew

4 responses to “Paper Nests”

  1. Eunice Miller

    Scary, now to get me to look around here.

    Reply
    1. mthew

      They nests are abandoned after the first frost if not before. They don’t get used again next year–they’re usually mauled to oblivion by winter weather.

      As long as you’re not in their face, they have no interest in humans. For all the nests of Bald-faced Hornets, I don’t see that many of the wasps themselves during the summer.

      Reply
      1. Eunice Miller

        Great to know.

  2. chuxpix65

    Nature’s 3D printers.
    Cool!

    Reply

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