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!

The Critters Are Stalking Me!

   It seems as if things are stacked against me this summer.  Oh, how I wish winter would arrive with a bang.  Yep, here it is only the last of July and I am dreaming (and wishing for) cold weather.  I imagine those not used to the heat are doing the same but it is not the heat that is bothering me.  It is what comes with a hot, muggy summer.  Bugs!  We have an overload of insects this year.  My garden has been decimated by the eastern lubber grasshoppers, there are mosquitoes in droves and cicadas are crawling out of the ground and leaving their castoff shells everywhere.  Those are bothersome but can be handled.  It is the wasps that are the thorn in my side.  In the past two months, I have been stung ten different times.  Most of the time, I get too close to their nests and the are letting me know to mind my own business.  Well, I WAS minding my own business and still got stung today.  

  After the last bout of stings, everybody told me "Stay inside!  You will not be stung."  Yeah, right.  Those wasps are stalking me now.  They are out to get me by hook or crook!  This afternoon, I was cleaning our tool/craft room when I found a bunch of things that belonged to Darling Daughter.  I figured those needed to be returned to her so I left the room, went to the dining room and put the items there so I would not forget to give them to her.  Then, I wandered back through the living room.  Aha!  There was my glass of lemonade!  I looked down to grasp it when, suddenly, I felt a stabbing pain in my neck!  Thinking I had somehow inadvertently gotten something sharp caught up in either my hair or shirt, I headed to the bathroom to check my "wound".  Staring in the mirror, I noticed something strange on my collar.  Yep!  There was a WASP!  That critter was fiery mad and was searching for another spot to attack!  I flipped it off into the sink, threw a washcloth over it and rushed to get the bug spray.  Son came to my rescue, though, and killed the beast!  He, also, found the nest and got rid of the entire thing.  It seems that the nest was between the window and screen in the living room.  That wasp evidently did not like me being so busy.  It literally stalked me in my own house!  Oh, winter, where art thou?  How I wish you would come for an extended visit and rid my place of all these bugs!

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.

"Beeing" In The Right Spot!

  Early this afternoon, I found it far to stifling to sit inside so I escaped the confines of the Little Bayou House.  Outside, I could breathe!  After taking a few deep, lung-filling breaths, I fiddled around in the garden.  It felt good being out in the sunshine and cooling breezes.  While I am not one to complain about being home day after day, I do need my outdoor time!  What am I saying??  I stay on the Bayou about 99% of my time.  It is here that I feel safe, at peace and welcome.  I cannot say that about too many places.

  After tending to the tiny seedling tomato plants, I figured that I would sit on the steps and enjoy the view for a while.  These steps are directly in line with the pier so the scenery is quite exquisite!  It was not long, however, before my eyes were directed toward my feet.  Buzzing about the ground below me were a good number of bees...or wasps...or...something.  Time to investigate!

  In total, there were about 30 insects within a few feet.  Some were tiny but one large bee...wasp caught my eye.  A scoliid type wasp was crawling about on the board path as if searching for something.  She went from board to dirt and back again.  This wasp did not bother any of the tiny bees but found a small hole and immediately started digging.  I took the opportunity to photograph her up close and personal!  While I was busy photographing the wasp, the other insects kept right on digging their nesting sites.  Not once did any of them attempt to sting me.  In fact, the whole lot of them seemed perfectly oblivious of my presence.  

  Scoliid wasps have a rather unique..albeit morbid...way of laying eggs.  Instead of digging nesting site holes and providing paralyzed insects for their future kids, the Scoliid Wasp merely hunts for a beetle larva hole, digs it larger until she can fit, stings the larva to paralyze it and then lays her egg on its rear.  The larva remains alive but cannot move.  The wasp egg hatches and the wasp larva starts eating its beetle larva host.  If other wasp eggs are in the same larva,  the first one to hatch eats all of the other eggs before starting to dine upon the beetle larva.  Survival of the fittest...or first, in this case.

  I must admit that spending an hour or so watching bees and wasps gave me the fresh air and escape I needed.  Tomorrow, the yard work continues so the brain will not feel trapped.  Mother Nature can often find cures for our doldrums.  The entertainment is endless.

The Hunt Is On

  Every now and again, something occurs that sets off a series of actions.  This can be a good thing or a bad depending on the circumstances.  Once again, I noticed a whole bunch of yellowjackets dining upon a Eastern Lubber Grasshopper that I had squished.  Uh oh, that was not a good sign.  If there are yellowjackets in the area that quick after a kill, that can mean only one thing.  There is a huge nest somewhere nearby.  These are the Southern Yellowjackets that usually build their tiered nests below ground.  The entrance is an inconspicuous hole about one inch in diameter.  This underground nest-building may be fine for the wasps but it is definitely NOT fine for anything else that might wander too near.  Let one footstep get too close and the entire nest of hundreds of wasps will exit to defend their territory.  Southern Yellowjackets are known to be foul-tempered little rascals that will attack any hapless creature that might be deemed a threat.  The critters are so vicious that they refuse to call off an attack even when the intruder has fled.  The wasps will follow and continue stinging.  This can mean big trouble for anyone or any other critter. 

  Since finding so many yellowjackets in the area, I am determined to find that hidden nest and eradicate the wasps.  I worry that the old dog, Mr. PJ, will accidentally step on the hole and receive multiple stings.  The old dog would not fare so well through such a scenario.  He is already weakened with age and other health problems and does not need anything such as this.  So, the hunt is on.  Today, I took my old push lawnmower out and mowed where the old dog usually goes.  This is the first step.  Tomorrow, I will broaden that clearing into the underbrush around the paths and clear the gardens in case the buggers are there. It will be a lot of hot, hard work but it is needed.

  Southern Yellowjackets are easily recognized by their yellow and black stripes and nasty tempers.  Their queen, however, is orange with an equally as bad temperament.  She is often the only one of a hive to live during the winter months and will rebuild the colony herself.  She is bred the previous fall and will overwinter in a rotted log or mulch pile.  Come spring, she emerges and starts to find a suitable nesting site.  Occasionally, she will reuse the same nest but often that is not possible. Predators may have raided the unguarded nest during the wasps' dormant season.  There are some instances where the queen takes over a weaker queen's existing hive and commandeers the worker wasps.  If this is not possible, she starts her own hive, lays enough eggs to start a colony and then the whole group expands until there are hundreds of wasps in the colony.  These wasps feed on dead insects or animals.  (They love fish!)  They do not make honey so are not pollinators.  
 

Wasp Versus Big Foot

  Around the Bayou, the bees are busy...so are the wasps.  Yesterday, I watched as a small black wasp carried off a huge cross spider.  The spider was stuffed down a small tunnel in the ground to become food for a future generation of the wasps.  This morning was spent watching another wasp do the same job.  Keep in mind that the wasps doing all this hard work are all females.  The males have nothing to do with rearing the young of most ground bees and wasps.  The female digs the hole, creates the birthing cells and catches all of the prey.  The male flies around doing not much of anything.

  This morning's wasp was a weevil wasp.  This one caught me by surprise.  Mark and I were rigging the sprinkler in the garden when I noticed a wasp flying erratically around me.  Hmmm?  "Go away, wasp.  I am not hurting you."  The wasp did not listen.  When I finally identified the wasp and saw that she was carrying prey, I knew immediately what was the problem.  I, obviously, was standing on her tunnel!  Sure enough, as soon as I took a step backward, she honed in on a certain spot on the ground.  She dropped her prey of a stinkbug and started digging out the dirt that I had accidentally pushed over the opening.  After a few seconds, she had the hole cleared and was hauling the paralyzed stinkbug down into the hole.  Her larvae would dine on the bug.  I watched as she backed out of the hole and flew off to find another insect.  On, happy day!  She headed right back to the tomato plants!  The stinkbugs are such a nuisance that I was singing praises for the weevil wasp!

  Sometimes it pays not to kill every bee or wasp you see.  Most solitary ground wasps are not aggressive.  They catch tons of garden-destroying bugs so do us huge favors.  This one is welcome to make as many holes as she wants and I promise that I will try to not to step on them, if I see them!  Carry on, Little Mama!  Carry on!  And just so you will know, I am aware that I probably spend far to much time watching the critters around the Bayou.

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.  

Month of the Wasps

  It seems to be "Month of the Wasps" here on the Bayou.  First, there were the red paper wasps that built their nest in the potted cedar tree.  This tree was overgrown with the jasmine causing me to snip, tug, hoist and generally be hugging the tree for about an hour.  Ordinarily, these wasps are rather foul tempered critters and will sting you at the drop of a hat.  For some reason, they felt sorry for the old lady trying to do a bit of yard work and I received nary a sting. 

  Then, Mark and I came across a yellow jacket nest.  These wasps, too, have nasty tempers and will attack just for the sake of being ornery.  The nest was huge and I was thankful that we were able to kill the wasps before anyone haphazardly stumbled upon the nest.  Again, nary a sting was received.

  Yesterday, we decided to rip up the small deck.  Some of the boards were getting a tad rotten so instead of repairing, we removed it.  While I was stacking boards, Mark called my attention to yet another nest.  This time it was a mud nest that had been accidentally knocked loose.  My first reaction was that this was some sort of mud dauber's nest (which are a type of wasp) but it looked quite different than any I have ever seen.  I had to do a bit of research and I am still not sure exactly what type of wasp made the nest.  The nearest thing seems to be a wasp called a spider wasp.  It is a type of mud dauber that mainly preys upon spiders.  Well, that could be a good thing since we do seem to have a lot of brown widow and black widow spiders about the place.  I figure that we could use all the help we can get in thinning those buggers out of the area!  Again, no stings but these are rather docile wasps unlike their cousins.

  It does seem as though we have more wasps, bees and generally just more insects than usual this summer.  Perhaps our lack of winters, as of late, accounts for this change.  As far as the wasps go, it was definitely a happy thought that we have avoided stings.

Those Vicious Ones

  The other evening, Mark and I toppled a bottle filled with gasoline into the hole that led to a yellow jackets' nest.  This was to kill the entire hive while we remained in a relative safe zone.  The method is a tried and true one that has been passed down from generation to generation.  Waiting until after dark assures that most of the wasps will be inside the hive and the danger is almost nil.  The idea is to shove a bottle filled with gasoline into the mouth of the hole in one clean, swift move.  The yellow jackets are trapped inside and the fumes can do their thing.  We felt confidant that the entire colony had perished.

  This morning, Mark checked the nest and nary a yellow jacket was to be found.  Curiosity got the best of us so he grabbed a shovel and started to dig.  Years ago, he did the same thing and dug up a rather large nest.  It was interesting to see and taught the kids a lesson about being careful when playing outdoors.  They were amazed at the number of wasps that were inside the hive.  This morning's dig proved to be even more impressive as this nest was far larger.  The nest had five tiers with many of the cells filled with eggs or larvae.  Over 500 adult yellow jackets had also perished.  

  While I am all for the mantra of "Live and let live" when it comes to something potentially dangerous, I have no qualms about eradicating the problem.  The wasps in this hive alone could cause great injury or even death to a person or animal.  Right after we had placed the bottle in the nest, we got word that a local lady died of a single wasp sting.  It was heartbreaking to hear the news and made us even more thankful that we found this nest before anyone got stung.  Yellow jackets are not something to mess with.  Their nests are underground and are often unseen until it is too late.  It is best to be wary of where you step!

The "Hole" Thing

  During our evening walk, the old dog refused to go any further.  He balked about going down the hill.  He turned this way and that instead of following the path.  Then, he sat and was not about to go any further.  One thing is certain about this fellow, when he decides to do something (or not do), there is no changing his mind.  So, I changed my course and took him back inside.  I really had no choice.  Once inside, he happily plopped on his bed and looked at me as if to say, "I won!"  Yeah, you did.

  After getting the dog settled, Mark and I continued our stroll about the hillside.  Our hikes do not go "down the hill" simply because that is the dog's designated potty spot.  We meander across the top of the hill and then down around behind the canebrake.  That path, however, could have meant trouble if we had taken the dog.  I am glad he rarely goes across the area especially after this evening. 

  As we were walking, Mark and I both noticed a rather large hole in the ground.  It was probably a good two inches in diameter and the sides were smooth.  Hmm?  My first thought was that the voles had returned but on closer inspection, I found that having voles would have been far better.  This was a yellow jacket nest entrance!!  Goodness!  That hole seemed a lot larger now!  As we stood there watching, nigh on fifty of the wasps entered the hole.  Had the old dog stumbled across the hole, he would have been covered in a matter of minutes. The poor old dog would have received many painful stings. The fact that he never goes this path and his bull-headedness saved him!

  Once again, however, I must say that these wasps were rather docile.  Mark and I both were within a foot of the hole when we were pondering the source.  Not one of the yellow jackets made an attempt to attack.  They were intent on doing whatever they do down in the hole and were oblivious to our presence.

  Mark took things in his own hands and got rid of  the yellow jackets.  He used a tried and true method of "Bottle of Gasoline in the Hole".  Find a bottle that has some sort of neck, fill it with gas, wait until dark and then turn the bottle upside down with the neck sticking down in the hole.  The gas pours into the nest below ground and kills the wasps that are inside.  Waiting until dark assures that most of the yellow jackets are inside the nest.  Every year since we have been here, we kill several nests like this.  It is the safest way of eradicating the critters.

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!

When Will She Learn?

  Ms. Nycto, the Bayou Princess, has her share of problems.  First, she has been dubbed the "princess" because she is definitely NOT a bayou cat.  She was dumped here as a stray by some disgusting folks who think pets are disposable.  Obviously, the cat was accustomed to a life of leisure or, at least, was kept indoors at all times.  This perhaps was not a good idea since it made her lazy and unprepared to be on her own when her previous family decided to discard her.  When she first made her way to the Bayou, she was nigh on starved, covered with fleas and had her fur so matted that it took months to trim her.  She tugged at the heartstrings and wound up being part of our family but, even though she is welcome to come inside, she prefers to be outdoors.  It is that fear of being locked up again that is her undoing.  The poor cat, no matter how she tries, just cannot get the hang of being a true bayou cat.  She has no idea how to catch anything so she is useless in the fight against rats, mice and voles.  Her long fur becomes quite entangled in vines and such making traipsing about the place difficult.  And, she has no idea of what might be harmful which is what presented the problems this week.

  It is the time of year when the yellowjackets are out in full force.  They know that the seasons are beginning to change so they are busy gathering foodstuffs for their larvae.  Anything edible is considered fair game for these wasps and that includes cat food.  Ms. Nycto is fed on the back porch and has a habit of leaving just a tad of food in her bowl.  I suppose she is saving it for later but the yellowjackets have other ideas. They swarm the bowl and make short work of her leftovers.  I try to pick up the bowl as soon as she is finished but. occasionally, I become distracted.  A few days ago, while a dozen or so wasps were cleaning the bowl, Ms. Nycto thought to investigate their actions.  Oh, you goofy cat! Don't mess with yellowjackets!  

  The wasps were not too happy with the big fluffy cat batting at them so they took action.  While they could not penetrate that thick fluff, her ears and paws were open targets.  She apparently managed to protect her ears with her front paws but those back paws received a couple of stings.  My poor baby has had swollen paws for four days now.  We have been keeping check on her and treating the stings so they are looking much better.  

  Then today.  Today....that silly princess seemingly forgot that the yellowjackets were the source of all her troubles for the past few days.  I saw her batting at another wasp this afternoon.  She had better appreciate my intervention for I am sure that I saved her from a bit more agony when I shooed her away from the angry wasps.  When will she ever learn???