Paperwasps.

Posted on 26 May, 2009 10 comments

Paperwasps are found in many Australian regions and I bet you have them too where you live. They are part of nature and play a good part in tidying up smaller insects, often garden pests. The wasp is nothing like paper, but they are so called, because the nest they build is paper light and often dangling on only one string from beams, tree branches or in shurbs.
I had never seen them before in my life, they are not so abundant, but this particular day I got to see them and feel them.
We had a bore in the lower part in front of the house, where an electric submersable pump brought the water through pipes to our water tank, which was on the hill behind the house, 7 meters higher. There was a little meterbox and switches in it, to switch the bore off or on. This was an alluminium box, with a little door, on a pole. When one morning I went down to switch it on and slammed the door closed again ( it was a bit sticky ), and just turned around, I felt a terrible pain in my arm, chest, face and leg. I was wondering what on earth had struck me, when I saw these wasps swarming around me. I ran and ran back up the hill, to the house. I was really so sore I screamed. That always helps, doesn’t it? I just sat there with this stinging feeling for about half an hour. I had put lemon juice on the stings and drank some water. I was having nightmares on how I would swell up and itch for weeks….but, half an hour later, the pain slowly disappeared. I had no bumps, no rash, no pain, nothing. Phew, how relieved I was.

When hubby came home I told him about it and he went to investigate. There was this paperwasp nest hanging, dangling right underneath that box. No wonder these wasps felt threatened when I hit the door close. They must have thought I was going to destroy them. But I definitely didn’t want them to stay where they were. It took 3 hours to fill up the tank and then we had to switch off the bore. I wasn’t going to do it, no way. So hubby went and did it, carefully. That evening, just before dark he sprayed the poor buggers with insectecide. You do it in the evening, as they are all home in their little holes in the nest. Next morning I saw them lying there underneath. Well, that battle won. I am sorry for them, but I was thinking, it’s either you or me.
The included picture is of a paperwasp nest I found in my garden in Darwin, hanging from the hibiscus shrub.

Comments

Llew

Ooooeeerrr! Marguerite. Poor you. I'd have screamed too. I'm glad it wasn't worse for you.

I've never heard of paperwasps before, so that's a new one on me. It's a shame you had to zap 'em, but needs must and all that.

26 May, 2009

Bobg

Oh my goodness nasty stings from wasps hope you are oknow.

26 May, 2009

Spritzhenry

What a nasty experience, M. I don't like wasps much - I suppose they must have a role to play? I'm not too sure what it is, though!

26 May, 2009

Bernieh

They're everywhere here Marguerite - always have to look out for them when I'm pruning in the downstairs garden beds. Nasty things!

26 May, 2009

Wagger

How scary for you - and what a relief when it subsided. You do breed some horrors in the southern hemisphere.

26 May, 2009

Marguerite

Thanks everyone for reading this blog. Spritzhenry, they do tidy up some nasties in the garden, guess they are part of the ecology and belong. Well Wagger, I think there are some nasty wasps in the Northern Hemisphere too. When I was visiting there and having food outside, they wanted to share it with me and you had to be so careful not to bite on a piece of something sweet, as a wasp could be on it. Also sitting on the edge of your drink, beer as well! The paperwasps don't attack you unless you disturb them. Yes Bernieh, hubby got stung by a few too when he was mowing the lawn and brushing past a shrub. But then...he's a tough guy, lol.

26 May, 2009

Wohlibuli

That is a nightmare! Stinging insects make me swell up like a balloon. I once stepped on a bee and couldn't wear a shoe for a week! The ones that "bug" for food and drink are the worst. You have to be careful about leaving soda uncovered outside, I was working with a girl in a garden center, who set her soda aside for a minute and then took a sip and was stung on the roof of her mouth. OUCH!!

26 May, 2009

Dottydaisy2

Poor you, sound like a horror story, anyone allergic to wasp stings might not have been so lucky........
Thanks for showing the picture of the nest, quite fascinating.

27 May, 2009

Elke

What an interesting, although painful, story. Great photo too. We used to get something like these in S. Africa. Here in Canada the paper wasps build an enclosed nest, with just one hole at the bottom, often under the eaves at the gable end, as high up on the house as possible, - i.e., the hardest place to get to if you want to get rid of them. They are fascinating structures, so strong yet the weight of a feather.

8 Jun, 2009

Raquel

Glad you weren't allergic! I;ve seen two wasp nests similar to these here in Houston - one was built last year uinder the leaf of my banana plant, and I didn't notice it until the wasps had left it! It still hangs under the leaf, but it'e empty. I was never bothered by the wasps. I just saw one downstairs by the stairs and it looked big, with lots of wasps around (didn't take notice of me, though - whew!) but I think the apartment building people took it down, because it's not there anymore...don't wasps help control insects and such?

20 Jun, 2009

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