am i seeing a Bee Hive?

[Raven11:11]

We had a small round , grey ball that bees spent the past few months living in on a tree in our yard and it recently fell to the ground and we examined further.

- it is round, a little smaller than a volleyball
- inside, the texture is like newspaper, flaky, grey soft material
- several sealed white pouches with nothing inside
- looks like honey or eggs were stored

I have never seen a hive like this prior.

Have you?
What is it made of?
Where are the homeowners?

Taker ez,

Dave
   

[Reuven_M]

sounds like paper wasps

[Raven11:11]

so was the hive made from paper?

[Halton Hills]

So was the hive made from paper? .......... Where are the homeowners?

Yes.....if it is indeed a wasp nest.....it is literally made from paper.

Throughout the summer, the wasps travel about to find suitable wood sources (usually your fence or deck)

They chew small amounts and mix it with their saliva to produce a pulp.....then return to the nest and deposit it neatly.....adding it to the outer shell.

You can look closely at the paper and see the different rows of each deposit.....the colour variations are the result of the different wood sources.

In the fall when it gets cold, the colony collapses and dies......with the exception of the queens.....they find a place to hide and overwinter.

The whole process starts anew in the spring when the queen builds a new nest from scratch.

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*****  A word of warning  *****

If you find a nest.....do not bring it inside your home.

There is always a chance of a hornet or wasp hiding in the layers of the nest......and it will come back to life when warmed up.

Even some young can emerge from their cells as the birthing process can be re-started by simply bringing them in from the cold.

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[Raven11:11]

thanks for the info, there did not seem to be anyone inside , and YES  it looked like paper!

Wow, nature at its best.  truly beautiful.

[Axeman]

I know I'm slow on the response here but yes to me it sounded like some form of vespid...are the cells hexagonal? And umm...HH is right...don't bring this baby in the house lol...as far making nest of paper -- ever see them chewing on your deck? I spend my summers being ever vigilant and watching over my deck...when I see them land and begin to chew I run at them waving a corn broom and cursing them in Punjabi.

Last year I had a bad year with quite a few yellow jacket nests around my home (I found and destroyed 4)...this year, not a single nest.

[Raven11:11]

only the huge bumble bees, 1 always shows up and makes a hole in the wood (4x4) holding up our vineyards - a perfect hole. We simply plug it or shew them too. with Samosa in hand (joke).

these, no we did not see them near or around the wood.

[Napper]

Axeman ?

Somehow I missed this thread.  Like I think you forgot yur Meds :lol:

I run at them waving a corn broom and cursing them in Punjabi

Axeman? did it work?  you posted this Oct 31

Napper :roll:


Raven11:11

only the huge bumble bees, 1 always shows up and makes a hole in the wood

 

look up Carpenter Bee's they are very destructive. Nasty little things and tough to kill.


Napster2112

[Axeman]

I umm...think they were the wrong sort of bees...they didn't seem to understand Punjabi....

[Halton Hills]

"I run at them waving a corn broom and cursing them in Punjabi".......Axeman ? .........did it work?  you posted this Oct 31

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Axy's been pretty busy lately......but, being ever vigilant......he's left the task in good hands......  :wink:

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