Wonderful Nature - Thread

[Heart Of Midnight]

^ I was supposed to ask you if there was a wasp trap in the picture, but I forgot.  Would a trap be better than me starting to feed them somewhere in my garden?  Or does it really matter what I do because they're going to die anyway?

[BlackCurtains]

I'd try to divert them from your house, so feeding them in the garden is a good idea, I think.

Having just one wasp in my bedroom (or anywhere) would scare me so much. I'm really allergic to them, so much so I carry an EpiPen. There have been smallish somethings (hornets maybe?) sticking around my front windows. I think they are either looking for a nesting site or maybe the reflection of the sun off the white aluminum makes them think it's water.

At my parent's house yesterday I went out on the lanai and saw a huge dragonfly in the pool. I picked it up but it was dead already

[BlackCurtains]

I caught the neighborhood raccoon trying to get something out of the garbage by the mailboxes.

https://i.imgur.com/LRpoBNs.mp4

[Heart Of Midnight]

^ Raccoons are cute and smart animals. 

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The wasps in the attic are still doing well in their nest and we have been able to be at peace with them. Every day they still manage to fly out of their nests on a foraging journey and there are still a lot of them! It hasn't been cold enough for them to die off yet.
A few have wandered into the bedroom from a possibly existing hole in the wall or ceiling, but I have killed them either with a fly swatter or they have flown directly into the glue trap in the window. Besides these wasps, a few new acquaintances have wandered into the room! A species of beetle called Metoecus paradoxus (also known as the wasp nest beetle and eyelash bug) and a larva of a species of flower fly called Volucella inanis!
Both of them are parasitic in social wasp nests. They are not harmful to humans. I have rescued and taken all the beetles and larvae to the garden. 

Here, as a spoiler, is one of those flower fly larvae. I didn't want to put it out there in case someone didn't like them. It was a bit disgusting at first, but after getting to know them better, they are interesting and funny creatures. 

Spoiler

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On Saturday evening, I came home with my mother by car. As we turned onto the road leading to our home, a Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo Bubo) flew in front of us! I didn't even know that they live in this area. When I lived in the countryside, these were familiar "friends" besides other owls. 

[BlackCurtains]

That's so weird that you say that about the wasp parasites... last night I was watching animal videos and they had a guy removing parasite larvae from wasps. They also showed a botfly extraction on a baby bird. The wasps and bird must've felt so much better after getting them out.

I'm glad they aren't bothering you too much. I would still freak out if a wasp was in my bedroom

I saw a woodpecker this morning

[Heart Of Midnight]

It's a funny coincidence that you had watched videos about similar insects.

Yes, I've also been startled every time a wasp has come flying into the bedroom, especially if I wake up to it buzzing!  They are already a bit "clumsy", their flight is no longer as energetic as in the summer and they are just trying to get towards the light source, luckily not towards me!
Outside, I avoid going into the backyard past the end wall of the house above which the nest is located. From there, they can attack aggressively.

It's not long since today I saved two larvae from spiders here in my bedroom! Both were close, but at a different point. In both small webs there was a tiny little spider packing a larva in its web. How could it be possible that they had fallen prey to spiders at the same time? 
After rescuing them, I started cleaning the larger spider webs off them. I succeeded quite well in that, and especially the second larva started crawling very briskly. The other was motionless, but alive. I took them out to the garden, where they can continue their journey.
( I do clean my bedroom too, but I have let two spiders live here with us in peace. There are spiders in other parts of the house too, unless the cats have caught them all.  I like spiders and they are beneficial insects. )

[BlackCurtains]

I've kept spiders in the house before. I don't have any (that I know of) here because pest control comes every month.

[Heart Of Midnight]

Thursday morning I had to kill 4 wasps that had entered the bedroom. I still don't know where they got here. I taped off a few spots on the ceiling and wall. We'll see if that stops more of them coming tomorrow morning.

  And just now I had to kill one more, so those tape spots don't help... Too bad I didn't have time to see where it came from. There was only a buzzing sound and I quickly ran to the fly swatter!

[Heart Of Midnight]

I have taped almost all the holes I can find in the bedroom and only one wasp (per day) has entered the room. I wish I could find that last route where they come from.
Autumn has not yet been cold enough to kill them and there are enough apples on the trees in the neighbors to feed them for a long time to come. An autumn storm is forecast for Thursday and the temperatures will rise even warmer than they are now. That warming and windiness is a good thing in terms of electricity consumption. 

[Heart Of Midnight]

Me again!

It's been several days without wasps in the bedroom. I have strengthened the tapings. From behind them, there has been some rustling for a while, until it has stopped and it's completely quiet again.

But...

The wasps have found their way downstairs and the cats like them very much!  Fortunately, I or someone else from my family has always been downstairs when those critters have appeared to crawl on the floor or fly towards the windows. Cats have never managed to catch them before us.  But, this is not a good situation at all... You can't always be at home and then you always have to fear when you get home that one of the cats has suffocated to death after being stung by wasps. 
Winter come, come soon!
My mother made traps for wasps from bottles with honey water, but they haven't gone there yet. Those traps are here inside the house. I have also taped the holes in the ceiling and walls from the hallway, stairs and toilet.
Today I was in a hurry to get out of the toilet when I heard the buzzing of a wasp near me! But I didn't see it anywhere...

[BlackCurtains]

Oh no! My dog was stung by a wasp in the face once and we had to rush him to the emergency vet. They gave him Benadryl and told us to keep some in the house if it ever happened again. But I don’t know if you can give Benadryl to cats.

Is it possible the wasps are living in your walls? I never heard of such a problem like this. Does it happen every year?


I haven’t seen much. The squirrels have come back and there are a lot of mockingbirds around. I saw a bunny one evening too. My parents lost the pool cage in the storm, so they have been finding things in the pool. Mostly dragonflies and moths but one day there was a snake.

[Artemesia's Garden]

Our cat gets stung regularly by wasps because we feed him outside and they seem to have learnt where his feeding station is. I hope he doesn't become allergic one day. So far he just gets annoyed but then he's fine later. The rose bush in our hedge has made red hips and there are horse mushrooms and parasols at the end of our garden. I saw a pair of Long Tailed Tits in the willow tree today. The hornets are still active.

[BlackCurtains]

I rescued a small moth from my kitchen. It didn’t want to fly away though. When I blew in it gently it came back and landed on me. I had to let it go off the balcony and it finally flew away.

[Heart Of Midnight]

Oh no! My dog was stung by a wasp in the face once and we had to rush him to the emergency vet. They gave him Benadryl and told us to keep some in the house if it ever happened again. But I don’t know if you can give Benadryl to cats.

Is it possible the wasps are living in your walls? I never heard of such a problem like this. Does it happen every year?


I haven’t seen much. The squirrels have come back and there are a lot of mockingbirds around. I saw a bunny one evening too. My parents lost the pool cage in the storm, so they have been finding things in the pool. Mostly dragonflies and moths but one day there was a snake.

I have hydrocortisone tablets in the medicine cabinet for the cats and myself in case we get stung by a wasp.
So far so far everything has gone well and we haven't been stung.  One of my cats is really excited with these critters and always sticks his nose in them. Fortunately, we have managed to stop the game and kill the wasps.

They haven't come downstairs or upstairs for two days. 
As I write this, there is a rustling and buzzing sound coming from two different corners of the bedroom, but I have blocked the holes so they shouldn't get in here anywhere.
I believe the nest is located in the attic, but some of them have started wandering between the walls towards the light and heat coming from the rooms. Only a few wasps fly in front of the house outside during the day. Maybe the rest of them will soon die too...

[Artemesia's Garden]

I saw three bee species in the garden this evening without really looking. The honey bees are foraging on the asters. I wasn't sure that would work but I'm pleased it did, so I'll be dividing and putting those around the back of the garden next year. At the moment there is little forage left apart from ivy.