first and foremost, i wanted to share that the amazing and generous seth apter is hosting a charity auction on the altered page for those effected by the wrath of hurricane sandy. the offerings are simply amazing, and the benefit so very great! click the image below to read his post.
go bid! i can’t afford the first one but i think i shall donate $50 in seth’s name because he’s such a good and generous man and no matter how rough things may be for me right now, i know they are so much worse for those in the mid-atlantic region.
on a totally separate note, an odd warning…
if you’re like me, you love nature bits: sticks, stones, bird and paper wasp nests, etc. all of my closest friends and family often collect things things for me, along with bones and other good bits. a few weeks ago i commissioned my dad to make me some AMAZING art boxes (i’ll share that later — new motorized/light-up series in the works) and in the parcel he included two gorgeous and pristine wasp nests. i was so thrilled!! i was going to pull one out two days ago for an assemblage i’m working on but got side-tracked (what else is new?), and then went for them last night. it looked like someone had poked their finger into the center of one as there was a wee hole where no hole had previous been. i asked my son if he squished it in a fit? nopes. then i spy something moving inside the baggy it was in. a WASP! a big, fat, pokey-arsed wasp! somehow it had managed to hatch super early in my house because it’s so cozy and warm. who ever would have imagined!? so, if you find a seemingly evacuated wasp’s nest, you may want to keep it in something tightly closed for… like a year… before you fiddle with it. i’m quite allergic to those feisty little beasts.
one of the two looks like this with the white bits. think a bunch more will hatch? (this isn’t my actual nest — i was scared to open the box in case 13 more hatched and ate through the plastic bag they’re in).
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6 comments
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5 November, 2012 at 6:08 pm
lisa Jurist
Seth is the best!
oye..maybe put the bag with the nests in the freezer for a few weeks!
5 November, 2012 at 7:34 pm
elusivetuna
Yes, if you put it in the freezer for a couple weeks, nothing will hatch after. I pick these up from time to time, but I’m super careful because I’m allergic to stings!
6 November, 2012 at 3:17 am
Melissa Majchrzak Buckley
Alicia, I love wasp’s nests too! I usually keep them in a sealed jar for a bit, just to be sure, Definitely bring them into your home (in the jar) to hatch, if they’re going to. You don’t want a surprise (again) later. Then, if they do hatch, you can either let it go outside or just let it die in the jar. I, myself prefer “the keep them in the jar to die” option. The covered spots are the giveaway they may still be live nests. Just keep in mind, the wasps don’t die in the cold of winter, they just go dormant, so the freezer may or may not do the job.
6 November, 2012 at 10:06 am
Jo Murray
What a nasty surprise….be careful! Seth is absolutely number one in my book.
6 November, 2012 at 3:31 pm
Kathleen Piercefield
Yes, the cells with white coverings are ones with unhatched pupae in them! Like Melissa, I would say that freezing is no guarantee they won’t hatch, since they seem to survive frigid winters just fine. I would let them hatch in your warm house and then just toss the wasps outside (if you chill them a bit first they’ll be sluggish, not feisty) and keep that beautiful paper nest.
29 November, 2012 at 9:17 pm
denverjess
I stumbled upon your blog when I was searching for a photo of an intact wasps’ nest. I stopped when I saw your photo because it so resembled the piece I put in resin for a pendant. I wanted to show you what I did with mine! No live wasps in my nest. Though someone did just give me a small food container full of wasps they found “dead” on the ground–I hope they are actually dead, and not just dormant, because they are chillin’ in my dining room…
Anyway, I am in love with your stuff–art, bits and pieces for sale, design stuff! If you want to see the necklace I made, here’s the link : https://www.etsy.com/listing/116236496/gray-and-white-wasp-nest-ecoresin
I just love finding people who love all the little things as much as me.