Alien Pods!

   Just in time for Halloween, I found aliens!  Not really but what I found gave me the idea that this would be ideal for a movie prop.  Last week, when I moved the plants into the greenhouse, I found a wasp nest.  About a dozen or so wasps had already hatched and were buzzing about the greenhouse after I agitated them enough to make them leave the nest.  Needless to say, they were NOT happy.  Also, needless to say, I vacated the greenhouse as I have had enough stings for this year.  Thirteen different stings is far too many by my standards.  

  It was that nest that caused me to stop and ponder the likeness of the wasp nymphs and movie aliens.  A closeup photograph made the empty cells of the nest appear to be some rough terrain of a different planet.   Seeing the swollen egg cases that were ready to pop out new wasps really made the idea seem plausible. When seen "up close and personal", a simple thing like a nest can take on a new perspective.  Hmmm...I guess we can just chalk it up to more strange beings on the Bayou...or my overactive imagination.

Sluggish Wasps!

  It is not often that I have to think of a warm spot for the potted plants this early.  Usually, the "prepare for pets, plants, pipes and people" warning start springing up on the weather report during late November.  Being this far south does give us a little time to prepare for things.  But, the beginning of this week saw those warnings being flipped around so I decided that the night blooming cereus plants needed some protection then one thing led to another and I wound up putting all of the plants into the greenhouse.  I figure that I may as well go ahead and just do it.  The chore is not one I relish.  Some of the plants are huge and moving them is rather arduous.  I literally had to "bearhug" those things!   But the chore is done and, for the next few months, the plants will live in the greenhouse...like it or not!  The morning that I did this was quite chilly which turned out to be a blessing in disguise!

  After I shoved the last plant into its spot, I felt a gentle bump a on my face.  Thinking that a leaf or something might have fallen, I brushed it off and thought no more about it.  Then...another!  Uh, oh!  I know quite well what was giving me those "warning bumps".  Wasps!  Sure enough, there were a dozen or so wasps flying about the greenhouse. Did I unknowingly lug a wasp nest into the greenhouse with the plants?  I had noticed dozens of treefrogs and lizards but wasps?  

  Sure enough, there was a nice sized wasp nest up under one of the leaves of the rubber tree plant.  I had bearhugged that sucker all the way into the greenhouse without a sting!  The cool morning air had the wasps sluggish but, once inside, they began to warm up and not appreciate the rough move.  Needless to say, I vacated the greenhouse and left the door open.  Later, the critters were gone and I was able to find and dispose of the nest.  Whew!  It sure made me thankful for the cool weather!

Pier Wasps!

 Going to the pier is something I do dozens of times each day.  It seems as if the water calls to me.  Most of the time, I am just there.  I am not fishing.  I am not going to the skiff.  I am just there.  All things to do with the water and the marshes interest me so the camera is nearly always in hand.  I have learned that the best things happen when the camera is sitting back on the coffee table so I have learned to keep it nearby.  Interesting things can happen at a moment's notice.  Today was no different.  Interesting things (at least, interesting to me) kept popping up in the most unexpected places.

  The pier posts are about twelve feet apart.  I tell you this to give you an idea of how near I was to the shore end of the pier.  I was between the first two sets of posts when I spied what appeared to be a cluster of seed pods hanging on a low branch.  Even with the bad eye sight, I knew this was not a possibility as the "seed pods" were dangling from a black gum tree branch.  Nope.  Those seeds do not have weird pods.  They are more like a hard blue berries.  Still, this cluster of "dried" pods made me stop to gather a photograph.  As I focused the camera, it became apparent that this was not any kind of seed pod but rather a wasp nest.  There were dozens of huge wasps crawling around on the nest and nearby branch.  My goodness!  That was nest was unusual looking!  Each cell was about two inches in length!  And the wasps were huge!  

  After photographing the wasp nest, I went to tell Son.  He had helped his cousin, Jason, load a trailer.  I wanted Son to be aware of the wasp nest simply because it was so near the pier where he has been doing repairs for the past week.  As I related my story, Jason made a comment that he was glad that he had not found the wasps "the hard way" since he is highly allergic to bee stings!  Oh, my!  So, I gave them specific directions as to where the nest was located so Jason could fully avoid the wasps.  Then...being young men, they decided to take a hike to the pier!  Oh, goodness!  Be careful, Jason!!!!  I guess I had better find out what type of wasp this is and maybe get rid of the nest.  Always something...always something.

They Are Out There!

  Wasps are some of the most feared of all insects due to the fact that they can attack without warning.  It seems that they can build their nests in the most unexpected places and will protect those nests with a vengeance.  Take one step too close and they've got you!  Running is pointless as the wasps can fly much faster than any of us can move.  In some cases, the entire hive can swarm out and cover you in a matter of seconds.  Hornets and yellow jackets can have a hive of thousands (yes, really) of critters and each of those critters is fierce!  It is best to keep a wary eye out for their nests and not venture too near.  

  Paper wasps nest in much smaller colonies.  Their nests are usually dangling like a little umbrella beneath a sheltered area.  Eaves of houses, branches with thick leaves, benches, conical wind chimes and bird feeders all offer shelter for the wasps.  Even a lumber pile covered with a tarp will suffice.  Yep, that is where the wasps were found today.  Mark found it the hard way and received a couple of stings before he was able to retreat to a safe distance.  Crazy thing is that I work in this area daily and see the wasps in the garden constantly.  Perhaps they are accustomed to my presence.  

  Paper wasps are so named because of their nests.  The nest is made from chewed wood fibers mixed with saliva.  This forms a papery substance which is shaped into the nest with open cells.  Each cell is fitted with a paralyzed insect or caterpillar before a single egg is inserted.  The cell is then capped over for the egg to hatch.  The larvae feasts upon its meal and grows to maturity inside that cell. 

  With all of the bad hype surrounding the paper wasps, they do provide one good service.  These wasps do a fine job of keeping the garden a bit more pest free.  If you can get over the fear of being attacked, the wasps can be viewed as helpful.   I hate killing them but this nest was in a spot that was undesirable.  Mark and Son needed the lumber that was housing the nest. We had no choice but getting rid of the nest and the wasps.   I am sure there are numerous nests around the place so we will have to be a little more careful as we work.  

A Near Miss....or A Diverted Critter Attack!

  Yesterday, I wrote about being attacked by the horde of mosquitoes that had sought refuge from the flooded marshes.  I was thankful that I only received a dozen or so bites after I intruded in their midst.  It was nigh on the same thing earlier in the day...only it could have been much worse.  Sometimes, there is just no explanation of a near miss but it sure makes you appreciate that thing called luck when it happens.

  In preparation for a storm that was supposed to hit the Bayou but then changed its mind, I decided to cut back the overgrowth of jasmine and rose canes.  The all summer long rains had sent the things into a humongous growth spurt and had them covering everything in sight including several potted cedar trees.  Well, it was time to do some severe trimming.  I have found it far easier to do clean up after a storm if you start it long before it ever hits.  Garden snips in hand, I started lopping vines.  While yanking on vines, several red paper wasps were noticed flying about my head.  The critters were shooed away and the lopping continued.  Once the potted cedar trees were untangled from the vines, the pots were pulled out from the spot so I could get "down and dirty" with the remaining vines.  Darn!  Those pesky wasps were back again!  Once again, they were shooed on their merry way.  There was no time to play with them as hurricane preps are far more important.

  Then fast forward to today.  Mark had just arrived home and we headed to the pier. Noticing that the wind had knocked over one of the cedar trees, I stopped and righted it.  Uh, oh!  There were those buzzing critters again.  Then I spied the problem.  I literally had moved their home!  In one of the potted cedar trees was a huge nest!  The thing was a good six or seven inches across and covered with wasps!  Wow!  How had I not gotten stung?  Yesterday when I was yanking on that tree and cutting those vines, the dozens of wasps calmly tried to warn me instead of attacking.  

  Well, to make a long story short, I was not as nice as the wasps.  They tried to warn me which I fully appreciate but the nest had to go.  Too many people walk through that part of the garden as it leads to the front steps of the Little Bayou House.  I could not take the chance that someone may be stung.  The nest was sprayed and knocked out of the tree.  Several dozen adult wasps were killed.  That, my friends, was a near miss and now a diverted critter attack!

The Grouchy Ones

  Several times, I have written about docile bees and wasps that inhabit the gardens.  Honeybees, Leafcutter Bees, Mason Bees and even the Great Golden Digger Wasp come and go as they please without any intentions of attacking.  They do their things and I do mine.  We have a mutual respect for each other and all is well.  Even Paper Wasps, as notorious as they are as stingers, tolerate my presence within a certain distance.  Those, however, are on my list of "no-likes".  Then, there are the grouches of the Bayou. The foul tempered, mean, cranky wasps known as Yellow Jackets.  Those things top the "no-like" list and are on the "destroy, annihilate, obliterate, wipe-off-the-face-of-the-earth" list.  I guess you can say that I do not care for them.  I have been stung far too many times by the nasty tempered critters to ever think they are good for anything.  They stalk our fish cleaning table, crowd the compost and hide their underground nests right where I need to mow. 

  This afternoon during my hike about the hillside, I noticed yet another golden bee type critter buzzing about the ground.  Hmmm, this called for a closer inspection. Perhaps that was a hasty decision because before I knew it, I was in "stinging range" of an underground hive. The large bee-like critter was none other than the new queen working her new hive.  After a winter of hibernation, she had created a new hive and already had her first batch of workers thriving below the soil.  Queen Yellow Jackets single-handedly raise the first generation of her hive.  After they become adult wasps, she sits back and lets them dote on her as she becomes nothing more than an egg factory.  

  I watched the queen as she busied herself around the area and noticed that she was entering a rotted log near the marsh. Aha!  I will keep watch on this lady for the next few days until I find that telltale hole which is the entrance to her hive.  Then, after the sun has slid down behind the pines, I shall apply Pop's remedy to the wasp problem.  A long necked bottle filled with gasoline will be upended in the tunnel.  By morning, nary a wasp will have lived to tell the tale of a sudden odor of gas seeping into their hive.  Pop and Mark both have killed hundreds of hives with this method without nary a sting.  Hopefully, I shall be just as successful.  I am just glad I spied her before cutting the grass this next week.  This could have been a very different story....a much more painful one.  Yellow Jackets are not a favorite by far!

Welcome Home?.....Nope!

  The greenhouse has been used twice already this year as a nesting site for the wrens.  Both times, the little ones were raised in relative safety and the brood even learned to fly within the walls of the building. Snakes, cats, coons or any other predator stayed far away from the little birds and the only monster that occasionally neared the nest was me.   Mama Wren soon learned that I meant no harm so her worries dwindled.  I loved having the birds as company and hope they continue to nest in the greenhouse for years to come.

  Now, however, there is a new species trying to use the building as housing.  Paper Wasps try incessantly to build their umbrella shaped nests on the rafters of the greenhouse.  These, I do not like.  While I usually leave the wasps to do their thing if elsewhere, when they are in such close proximity to my working area, I call a halt to their nest building efforts.  I was a few days late on the most recent attempt.  By the time I noticed the homesite, it was quite large and had a number of wasps clinging to it.  These worker wasps were already tending to the larvae that were growing inside some of the cells of the nest.  Some cells were actually already sealed over waiting for the larvae to change to wasps.

  The wasps were promptly exterminated and the nest removed.  I cannot have these aggressive critters hanging about my work space. The greenhouse can house birds but not wasps or any other critter that might harm someone.  Paper Wasp stings can cause severe problems in those allergic to their venom.  To others, like myself, the stings are painful but at least not life-threatening.  Goodbye, Wasps!  Do not make your nest in my greenhouse!  

Haunted trees, wasp attacks and...stick flies??

I finally convinced my son to help me rig up some "haunted" trees for either side of our door. This was not a particularly difficult job as it just involved sticking two small, dead trees on either side of the steps. I get these brilliant ideas of decorating for Halloween but he sometimes needs a little "urging". I do not think he was at all convinced that we really "needed" haunted trees at our doorway but he did drag out the post hole digger and set to work! All was going well, the trees were "planted" and the bats were hung! My haunted trees looked great! Then I noticed a large paper wasp nest hanging under the eaves of the house. Oh my goodness! This would never work! I just knew some unsuspecting visitor would be brutally besieged by the beasts! They had to go. Armed with bug spray (I was taking no chances with these boogers!), we crept up as close as we could to the nest. I sprayed..he sprayed..it was a veritable fog of spray engulfing the nest! Ummm..we soon found out that bug sprays are not the weapons of choice against wasps! They did not die! They did not drop to the ground writhing in pain! They did however get really, really angry! ....... RUN! ...... Daring to venture back outside about ten minutes later, we peered at the nest. No bees were to be seen. Maybe it did work.. maybe.. just maybe they died! He took a stick and poked at the nest. No wasps! He poked harder and dislodged the nest from the house. It hit the ground and then from the corner of my eye..wasps! They were lurking in the azaleas .. still mad as wet hens. ...... RUN! ...... Later this evening, I counted five more large nests around the house. This could prove to be interesting to say the least! I will head to the store before attempting to rid the house of these next nests, though. A few cans of automotive brake cleaner will get the job done! (For some reason, brake cleaner kills them on contact and it shoots at a nice twenty or so feet!)

Later this afternoon as I was meandering about the hill, I noticed a cloud of whatever in my brother's yard. I say whatever because I had no idea what was making the swirling cloud. I knew it was some type of flying insect but even up close and personal, I could not identify them. This mass filled his entire front yard around his swimming pool. Thousands upon thousands of tiny bugs swirled.. not in one large spiral but more like small eddies each swirling at their own speed. Some bugs would leave their group to join up with another and then that would split up. It was a never ending storm of insects. I would like to say that they were some type of gnat but most gnats here on the Bayou are the little monsters with very large "teeth". (I know they do not actually have teeth but geez, can they ever bite!) These little bugs did not bite..I stood in the midst of them and received nary a nibble. I did however wind up with quite a few in my hair, on my clothes and somehow even inside my camera zoom lens. Later as I looked at the photographs that I took, the critters look more like flying sticks! I am supposing that the speed that they were flying created this effect. To me, it looks as if I took a picture of sawdust being thrown from a chainsaw or some mulch being tossed in the air..not bugs! And there is my answer! Little

bitty, stick flies! Sounds like a good name to me! I really should be frustrated just about now since all attendees of the "Ugly Bug Ball" seem to now have migrated to my windows! Obviously, they are attracted to the light so my window screens have creepy crawlies on them! Hmm, the geckos will eat well tonight!