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!
Harmony
That is incredible!
Jeanne Jackson
Harmony, it might give you inspiration for one of your fabric patterns! I really couldn't believe what I was seeing..
Anonymous
Jeanne: It's quite amazing what these usually scary creatures can do with who knows what. I think the birdhouse is beautiful!
Sita
I'm not anonymous...I'm sita.
Jeanne Jackson
It is amazing, Sita. A work of art! The paper wasps are busy coming and going but they aren't bothering us.