5 replies to this topic

[balconygarden]

I'm sorry to say I haven't been able to get a photo yet, but I'm hoping someone with more knowledge than I about bee and wasp behavior might be able to give me an idea of what's going on here.

There has been someone repeatedly visiting my balcony and it's definitely up to something. It keeps going under my balcony couch. I saw it coming or going 3 times today. The last time, I had just stepped out onto my balcony when it arrived. It hovered in front of me for a few seconds and I could see it was carrying something. It went under the couch. I have some old bench swing parts under there that I can't get rid of. I wonder if it's a solitary bee taking care of business in one of those. If so, that's fine, but I would not like a wasp nest on my balcony, at least not so close to where I sit. I'm really bad at telling them apart unless I can see them up close and still. I'm wondering if wasps build their nests one at a time like that. I guess I've always assumed they do it in groups.

So I understand if that's not enough to go on but if anyone can make an educated guess I'd love some info. Thanks.

[balconygarden]

I would like to add that the swing parts are metal tubes, in case that's relevant.

[ANTdrew]

The vast majority of bees and wasps are solitary. Sounds to me like you have a tube nesting solitary bee or wasp, not a nest. What you are observing is the female provisioning nest cells for her larvae.

[balconygarden]

Thank you ANTdrew. That doesn't seem like cause for concern. I knew about solitary bees but I didn't know there were wasps like that! Thank you.

[Serafine]

Is it one of these by any chance?

https://en.wikipedia.../wiki/Sphecidae

 

Some wasps make nest tubes out of clay, then fill them with larvae and dead spiders/insects. I have a bunch of those in my room, on the shelf above the ants.

They are fantastic navigators and the only insects i know that can deal with glass windows.

[balconygarden]

No, she doesn't look like that. She's black and yellow, kind of fat, but not bumblebee fat.

Here's a link to an Instagram post I made:

https://www.instagra...zRlODBiNWFlZA==

There's a video; if you swipe to the third photo after the video, that's the clearest image I've been able to get. She's always on the move. Sometimes when I'm there she hesitates, or checks me out a little bit, but mostly she goes directly under the couch and back out. The last photo shows the metal tubes under the couch.

I didn't see an option to add a photo to my reply here or I would've done that.

She has been coming and going several times a day!

PS perhaps I should mention this is in Ankara, Turkey.

Edited by balconygarden, July 30 2023 - 12:05 PM.