Paper engineers par excellence

I caught something on the television the other night. It was a piece about the large numbers of wasps we are seeing this summer. Someone asked the question 'Why do wasps exist?' The answer? 'To make more wasps'. No matter what you think of them you do have to wonder at their ability to make more wasps. As nest builders they can't have many equals.

Last week I visited somewhere that had a wasp nest that had been treated by pest control people. They didn't like to look at it or touch it so I offered to cut it down for them if I could keep it in return. (I know, sad!) Whilst they took refuge yards away I tried my best to prise it cleanly off the beam it had been built on, using a sharp knife. They were subsequently amazed at the way this structure had been made. When I said the wasps gnaw at wood and then chew it up to make paper to do this there was a look of sheer disbelief on their faces. But of course, that's exactly what happens. Look at the fine intricate papery layers that the wasps have woven around the brood cone.

The cone inside where the brood are kept is a marvel of paper engineering and precision. I cannot even draw a decent hexagon with a ruler yet the wasp makes this perfect cell time after time without fail. Just wonderful..... yet I admit to being as wary of the live ones as the next man. In our own garden this summer we have had two instances of them. Firstly my husband found a dead mole a few weeks ago at the top of the garden. Next he noticed wasps going in and out of the vacant mole run and building a nest in there. We don't know how the mole died but the wasps were there in huge numbers and the nest was not a million miles away from the bee hives. Now, wasps love honey and all things sweet and will kill bees so my husband wanted to protect his bees at all cost. Sadly readers, he took pest control action and the nest is no more.

Then I noticed that our bat box, which is on our garage and hidden by the undergrowth, was sprouting something familiar. A quick look activated a huge amount of wasps and I ran for it trying to remember my Mum's little mnemonic for treating stings. Chanting over and over 'winegar for wasps and beecarb for bee stings' I ran into the house and called for my knight in shining armour to deal with it. Well, this nest has also gone the way of the other. I feel cruel because I admire their building skills but I cannot own up to liking them too close to me!

PS: Don't worry about the bat. Our solitary bat is still living under our fascia board despite the offer of the des res we put up for him. I went out early yesterday as he came home from his nightly travels. He always has to make about 6 or 7 attempts to get back under cover so although he's not much of a flyer at least he had the sense to give the bat box a wide berth!