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Sunday, July 22, 2012

The strangest thing - one of our birdhouses was recently taken over by Paper Wasps

Rick and I were coming up our driveway from our afternoon hike with Huckleberry the other day when I looked up at the birdhouse on a Bishop Pine tree about 12 feet off the ground. I said to Rick, "Something has turned the birdhouse around!" On a closer look, the outside of the birdhouse had been papered over in beautiful scallops. The hole had been reduced to a very small opening, where Paper Wasps were coming and going.

The metal roof is untouched and a small amount of the white birdhouse can be seen at the bottom. What a strange sight! The best advice I could find was to leave them alone until the winter, when the males will die off and the female can more easily be removed. They have built a nest inside this small birdhouse, where no birds nested this year.

Paper Wasps have their beneficial role to play in nature so we will just enjoy their artistry - home decorating Paper Wasp-style.

It's a beautiful day here on the Mendonoma Coast and you never know just what you might see!

5 comments:

Harmony said...

That is incredible!

Jeanne Jackson said...

Harmony, it might give you inspiration for one of your fabric patterns! I really couldn't believe what I was seeing..

Anonymous said...

Jeanne: It's quite amazing what these usually scary creatures can do with who knows what. I think the birdhouse is beautiful!

Sita said...

I'm not anonymous...I'm sita.

Jeanne Jackson said...

It is amazing, Sita. A work of art! The paper wasps are busy coming and going but they aren't bothering us.