wasps in the garden in Curaao

copyright implicit by publication These creatures, who carry a mighty stinger, build nests of the size above and bigger on which up to 150 individuals can congregate at night. You might say they live there. As this nest was photographed shortly after sunset this must be all the nests occupants. The nest measures about 7 inches from top to bottom. The animals themselves are less then an inch long. They are, generally, peaceful, docile even: you can come quite near the nest before they attack. Their sting hurts enormously and results in a reaction to the venom injected: the area will swell for a few days and itch. For people who are allergic the sting might result in more serious consequences, death even I am told. What it is they do, apart from building nests and procreating, I have no idea. They collect water and old plant material from which they produce the paper (or near paper) the nests are made of. And food, I presume, fruit juices maybe, although I haven't really seen them doing that. They are however highly interested in a nearby plant that is invested by some kind of aphid. They don't seem to kill other creatures. A very simple life, although I elsewhere I read that there seems to be some competition for who gets to lay the eggs in the little compartments of the nest. After a while the nest gets abandoned and will survive for quite some time (months, but our climate is dry, very little rain) without maintenance. This nest was photographed shortly after sunset, nighttime is the only time you can do this more or less safely, in a Bougainvillea plant , which has an outershell of nice green leaves but who looks quite dry and dead from within. This one was not in a good shape because of the proximity to a wall and the mango tree towering above of which one yellow leave can be seen in the picture.