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.”

Wasp Nests, Part I

I’ve now spotted 22 of these paper wasp nests in local trees.
Some in the park, some in the cemetery, but at least five on street trees, right outside doors, stoops, and windows.
All have been abandoned by now, and the weather is starting to break them up. I found this paper on the ground; looked like just the comb was still hanging in the tree above.
This is made of wood fiber chewed off dead wood, including wood fences, by Dolichovespula genus aerial yellowjackets.

“Aerial Yellowjacket” is a bit unfortunate for a term, because the most common Dolichovespula wasp we have here is the Bald-faced Hornet (Dolichovespula maculate), which is black and white:

Gathering wood fiber off a fence slat.

mthew

4 responses to “Wasp Nests, Part I”

  1. Charles McAlexander

    There is a paper wasp nest in Central Park with the silhouette of an owl. Could this be intentional deception by the wasps to protect the nest from predators(tanagers and cuckoos), or just a fluke of this year’s nest?

    Reply
  2. Paul Lamb

    I read that someone is knitting fake hornet nests and hanging them in trees, supposedly to deter actual hornet nests. Don’t know if it works.

    Reply
    1. mthew

      I saw two of these nests in the same tree recently, perhaps 15-20 feet apart, so I don’t think they’d be impressed by a knit one.

      Reply
      1. Charles McAlexander

        Is a fake hornet a micro military drone? If so, they aren’t allowed in NYC parks.

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