I had a bit of a fracas yesterday with a lady Queen wasp who seemed intent on starting a nest in the laundry. I pointed out to her that 1) she was on private property 2) she was building RIGHT in the doorway and therefore in my way and 3) the swallows have already rented the property for the season and subletting was not an option.
She said...well, I can’t repeat what she said because it is unbecoming of a lady of my ilk to repeat it and it is CERTAINLY too navvy-like in expression to impose on the tender eyeballs of my reader(s). Suffice to say she got a bit shirty.
We’ve had Queen wasp nests in the laundry before...
These are they: very delicate, very beautiful, full of eggs that hatch into other wasps who then decide to make huge nests in the eaves of the house which is NOT good, neither for us (all that scratching and demolition of pointing between bricks) nor for the wasps - death by Pest Controller.
And I can’t be doing with having things pest controlled. I am a Friend of Living Things. I would rather encourage nest building elsewhere. In previous years wasps have nested in an abandoned upturned gardening trug, in hedges and under exposed tree roots. This is fine. Everyone is happy. But wasps are not welcome near or in the house and its extended buildings.
The lady Queen wasp had built her nest only half the size of the above pictures and certainly no eggs were injured in the moment when I knocked it down from the laundry ceiling with my window cleaning squeegee. I was almost injured because I didn’t realise lady Queen wasp was still inside. She got a bit loud and sassy - lots of aggressive wing vibrations. I thought it best to stand still until she left the building.
Blow me down if she wasn’t back an hour later scoping out a new site in the same area. She got as far as making a little paper nobbly bit on which to dangly a new nest so I knocked that off, too, and then I hung the peg bag from a nail in the beams in the fashion of a Waspinator, which is a pretend wasp nest. If wasps think a colony is already in situ they will move on elsewhere. Well, this peg bag ‘nest’ is the right size and shape; I just hope lady Queen wasp doesn’t notice it is decorated with yellow and green cartoon chickens.
The laundry has been a-chitter and a-chatter with swallow activity this morning. Mr Swallow has been joined by another swallow, I think a lady, and they have been swooping in and out of the laundry door all morning. They are either cleaning out the old nest from last year or building a new nest, which will be slightly irksome because if it is Option 2 I could have rescued my red dustpan and brush, around whose handle last year’s nest was constructed. I’m not inclined to disturb them just yet to have a look. I’ll have a quick peek this evening when I make a dash for peas from the freezer.
I’m wholly in awe of these little birds. They travel 6,000 miles twice a year to avoid Winter weather, which is a lot of effort for the sake of popping on an extra jumper and maybe some earmuffs and mittens. But goodness, what a marvel are swallows! I think about the instinct that drives them, their strength and energy for one so tiny, the dangers they face in their migrations and their sheer determination to live. And I think, ‘There’s a lot I can learn from a swallow.’ They are, as Stephen Moss says in his admirable and beautiful book ‘The Swallow: a Biography’ - ‘...little short of a miracle.’
The garden is awash with blossoms. I’m particularly enamoured of the cherry blossom, the violets and the forget-me-nots. I’ll leave you with some photos so you can enjoy them, too...
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KJ
KJ