Wasps and Blockages

Hi Oak Class,

I hope you've been enjoying the Easter break. Does anyone still have any chocolate left? It's been very quiet in the Hamilton house, with all of the main excitement happening after a lazy lunch in the garden on Easter Sunday...

I went upstairs to get something and noticed a wasp flying into a box on top of our wardrobe. Something didn't seem right, so I (reluctantly) opened the box to find this inside (and a very angry wasp):

Have you ever seen one of these before? It's a partially completed wasp nest! While we were figuring out how to get the nest out of our bedroom, and dodging the angry builder-wasp, one of our children spotted an opportunity to cause further havoc and stuffed most of a loo roll down the toilet. It was completely blocked! We had to borrow a plunger from a neighbour and everything! Later, when things had calmed down we admired the intricate beginnings of the nest whose construction we so rudely interrupted. Did you know that they make them from chewed up wood pulp and saliva? You can learn more about them here. We spoke with some neighbours later and they said they have caught wasps trying to build nests in their houses too this week - so watch out if you see any wasps buzzing around your house! Be especially vigilant if you see a wasp returning to the same place several times, as I did with the wasp on top of our wardrobe.

There seem to be nests everywhere at the moment; there are crows nesting in the tree at the back of our house, and we keep on finding baby slow worms in our garden too. Have you noticed any nests or baby animals around your home this holiday? Email me and I'll share the details on the blog.

I hope you all enjoy the rest of the holidays - I'll write again very soon! Thinking of you all.