Newbie with a Hornets' nest

[posie]

Hello everyone, I'm a newbie.I stumbled upon this LUVLY site when browsing Hornets as I have a Hornets' nest in the little field-stable that my miniature shetland ponies are SUPPOSED to be able to shelter in now the summer has nearly gone for this year.They do not like the rain and are not impressed that I shut the door some time ago when I espied the beautiful 'paper' nest hanging from the ceiling. It was still active a few days ago (their flight-path is through gap above door)but when they finish with it completely ,if anyone would like the nest for children at school or any other useful purpose, please let me know.It really is a thing of beauty,displaying such industry on the part of the builders...isn't nature WONDERFUL..

[posie]

me again, on reading my own post I thought it read as though the PONIES flight path is through gap over the stable door, but I meant the Hornets.

[Beekeeper]

Hi Posie, any time now if we get some really cold nights, the Hornets will vacate the nest, there is a slim chance a young queen will hibernate in it over the winter to start a new nest in the spring but usually they will all leave, all the worker Hornets will die off anyway, the only ones capable of surviving the winter will be the queens.

I had a log store at the top of my garden sometime ago which had been untouched for several years, (it was a reserve store) until one day i ran out of the usual stock, when i started to load logs from it onto the wheelbarrow, 5 or 6 overwintering Hornets flew out, several flew away but a couple of them were a bit annoyed with me for disturbing them, so being a coward i made a hasty departure until things settled down.

Ian

[posie]

Thanks for the info Ian.I'm a bit of a woose when it comes to ANNOYED wildlife so I'll be very careful. I wouldn't like to disturb any overwintering Princesses but my littlt ponies really do need a shelter in the paddock.Oh well, I'll think of something...if a local Bus Shelter disappears you'll know where it is!

[Beekeeper]

I would be inclined to put your ponies in there anyway if the Hornets flightpath is well out of the way, thinking shetlands, they are quite small and as the nest is up in the ceiling chances are the Hornets would fly in a fairly straight line to and from the nest so in theory they should be safe.

Check on the flightpath first and if it is as high as the nest or near enough there should be no need to worry as long as the shelter is standard size and not dog kennel size.


If i am waiting for a bus in the rain because the shelter is missing, i know who to call

[posie]

Hello Beekeeper, just noticed you hail from Brock ,I'm only a 'busride' away at Durley,Nr.Bishops Waltham.,so it may well be your Brock bus-shelter that I 'Rehome'.. This nest hangs too low, and the shelter isn't normal stable size, my Shetlands are miniatures,but I wouldn't like to take the chance,if weather gets too bad they'll just have to come indoors!

[Beekeeper]

Hi Posie,
Durley is a nice little village, i bought some bee hives there some years ago now at a beekeepers auction.

Shame your field shelter is a bit small it looks like if the weather turns bad, your lounge will be a temporary home for you shetlands, just don't let them watch to much TV!

As for the bus shelters, all are being watched over via video cameras and we have machine gun posts set up just in case.

Perhaps you could choose the one at Lyndhurst near the fire station, they wont miss it as no-one uses it, or for that matter the ridiculous cycle track through to Ashurst which cost a fortune in taxpayers funds and no-one uses either but i had better not get started on that subject.

Ian

[posie]

hi there Beekeeper, OK,I give up on the Brock shelter,as your machine guns sound almost as frightening as angry wildlife , and I wish to treat both with respect. We have decided to build a shelter for the Tinies by pulling the two small shelters further apart and putting a roof ,a back and half a front between them, utilising them for the sides, should be quite easy as the two existing shelters will stabalise it, and I will make it a lot bigger than them, so the ponies will be in the bigger middle one, and I can keep some rabbits in the two smaller ones, and Hornets of course. Last year I found an old paper nest in an old cookoo clock that was in a teachest in the barn,I dont tink it was Hornets but wondered if it was Paper Bees.Last year we also had a nest of large Bees (Bumble ?)in the floor litter of the barn,and under pallets of hay. this year we have a family of three hedgehogs hibernating in same barn, also under pallets of hay.It looks like a mother with two offspring as they are not as well grown as her, but they should survive their hibernation, as they have been fed cat food and mealworms adlib for some time. posie

[Beekeeper]

Blimey Posie, are you sure you are not living in a zoo !!

Probably by the time you have made the shelter the Hornets will have departed anyway but of course that does depend on the weather, if it stays warm, they could be there for a while so perhaps it is as well to make a temporary shelter, just in case.

Bumble Bees are lovely insects arn't they, never aggresive unless you disturb their home, they will quite happily fly round you on the way to and from their home, unlike Honey Bees which tend to make it quite clear to anyone in the flightpath that they are to move or else.

Where i am working, a large queen Bumble Bee found her way into the property and was buzzing around the window totally confused as to why she couldn't fly through glass, the other workers just stood back watching uneasily from a distance and left it to me as usual to capture her and release to the outside, she was a beautiful specimen, i wished i had my camera with me.

Bumble bees do suffer from parasites which weaken and sometimes cause the demise of a colony but she was clean, hopefully if she find a good place to hibernate there will be a super nest somewhere close by next year.

As for your Hedgehogs, those little beasts are quite useful creatures to have around, my dog was always finding them around the garden at night clearing up all the slugs and other undesirables, its a shame they are always covered in fleas! Perhaps we could educate them to take a bath once in a while.

Ian

[clackdish]

hello posie
was just having a small giggle to myself thinking about shetlands flying to and from their stable and wondering how much i could buy one off you for then i read your next post : (
oh well next get rich quick scheme please
ha ha ha ha