The sting in the tale of the nest

A READER has contacted me about a wasp’s nest built into a curtain that had been left open all summer.

The nest was abandoned, as it would be at this time of year, but he was amazed by its intricate construction. It appeared to be made of paper and there were holes in his papers in the room, and he wanted to know if the wasps had made the holes.

There are different wasp species in Ireland. They are in two categories — solitary and sociable. Solitary wasps don’t build nests and sociable wasps do. The curtain builder was a social wasp and probably Vespula vulgaris, the common wasp. They have an interesting life-cycle. It starts on a warm day in early spring when a queen wasp emerges from hibernation. She flies around looking for a nest site and starts to build. The nest is made from wood, which is chewed and mixed with saliva to produce a paper- or card-like substance — other materials, such as plastic or paper, are occasionally used.