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Photo#366982
Paper Wasp nest - Mischocyttarus flavitarsis - Mischocyttarus flavitarsis

Paper Wasp nest - Mischocyttarus flavitarsis - Mischocyttarus flavitarsis
Elkton, Douglas County, Oregon, USA
September 7, 2009
09/07/09 - The last picture I took - the day before the nest disappeared. All the chambers are empty; all the brothers and sisters have emerged. Before looking at the pictures more closely, I assumed some bird or other had taken the nest's contents for a meal. (There was an EPW nest outside the shed that was still very active and had been torn to shreds just one day earlier.) When I looked for pieces of this nest, I found absolutely nothing. I now speculate the wasps removed the nest themselves - perhaps with the intent of reusing the area next year? (Last year I watched another nest at a different location in my shed, and it too was removed from the ceiling after the last wasp hatched. This year a new nest was built in the same spot, but the nest was abandoned in early August. I believe the queen either died, or the nest was just a training exercise for an immature wasp. There were three larva developing.) I also speculate that this years light-eyed females will be next years new queens.

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Paper Wasp nest - Mischocyttarus flavitarsis - Mischocyttarus flavitarsis Paper Wasp nest - Mischocyttarus flavitarsis - male? or Queen? - Mischocyttarus flavitarsis Paper Wasp nest - Mischocyttarus flavitarsis - Mischocyttarus flavitarsis Paper Wasp nest - Mischocyttarus flavitarsis - Mischocyttarus flavitarsis Paper Wasp nest - Mischocyttarus flavitarsis - Mischocyttarus flavitarsis Paper Wasp nest - Mischocyttarus flavitarsis - Mischocyttarus flavitarsis Paper Wasp nest - Mischocyttarus flavitarsis - Mischocyttarus flavitarsis Paper Wasp nest - Mischocyttarus flavitarsis - Mischocyttarus flavitarsis Paper Wasp nest - Mischocyttarus flavitarsis - Mischocyttarus flavitarsis

I have never heard of that,,,,
I would not think that they would actually take the time and effort required to remove the nest themselves. Does not make much sense.

Interesting series. I particularly enjoyed the photos of the wasp collecting fibers

 
Neither have I,
but I'm totally ignorant of wasp habits. I only know what I see or photograph. One day the nest was there, the next it was gone, with no sign of dead wasps or even pieces of the nest lying around. The EPW, on the other hand, had bits of their nest scattered under the overhang where it had been fastened. (The EPW nest was on an outside overhang, whereas this nest was on the ceiling in a room within the shed. There were four other nests in the room (2 small yellow jacket nests, one small flavitarsis nest which was abandoned and one modest sized nest which produced about a dozen or so wasps), the modest sized nest also disappeared after all the wasps matured. A week or so later, the EPW nest disappeared (it still had a bunch of larva), followed a day later by this nest. I always leave the door to the room open. I do remember some Flicker parents training three youngsters on the fine points of being a Flicker (the little ones seemed more interested in playing and being fed than actually learning anything.) Part of their antics were around the shed. I don't know if Flickers are interested in wasp nests or if they eat wasp larva, but that was my first thought. However, since the nest was empty of all larva, I could see no reason for the Flickers to ravage it, unless it was just an exercise for the little ones to watch and learn from. Like I said, it's all speculation for me. Both removed flavitarsis nests could have also been accessed by ground creatures (raccoons and the like) because of the nests' proximity to shelves that line the wall they were situated by. Have you any ideas as to what may have removed the nest?

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