Hi Dave, I don't have information about birds feasting on wasps under eves (I will now keep my eyes open for them), but I do have a question about "yellow jackets" that make the big ball-shaped nests in trees. I've always thought that the common name for these wasps was "bald-faced hornet". Are they actually a type of "yellow jacket?" I know common names are misleading and would be interested in the scientific names, too. (I'm fascinated by paper wasps and their ability to make such beautiful paper, which I have used in fiber wall hangings in the past.)
Carol Kampert, Boulder On Wed, Feb 3, 2016 at 10:43 AM, DAVID A LEATHERMAN <[email protected]> wrote: > Recently Bob Righter posed some interesting questions on COBIRDS about > what an individual Say's Phoebe he observed recently in the Denver area > might be getting to eat under eaves. Once I got past my amazement that Bob > is related by marriage to someone *103* years old, my private response to > Bob guessed the answer might include European Paper Wasps (*Polistes > dominula*), an introduced black-and-yellow wasp closely resembling a > typical "yellowjacket" that reached CO in the early 2000s. They form small > combs under eaves and have become quite common. By contrast, most > yellowjacket wasps species nest in the ground, with two nesting in aerial > "hives" in trees with the combs being surrounded by an elaborate, round, > gray paper mache covering. Unhatched immature European Paper Wasps, dead > or alive, in white-capped cells of these combs would seem the most likely > source of nutrition for a curious insectivore investigating eaves. > Flycatchers are known to favor bees and wasps, in some situations as much > or more than flies. My reply to Bob included photos of the wasp and a > related situation of a pewee with a yellowjacket in it bill. Bob suggested > I post this to COBIRDS. Thinking the photos were a significant part of the > response, and since photo sharing on COBIRDS is difficult (why is that?), I > didn't take him up on his suggestion. Then he wondered further if perhaps > what seems like more wintering Say's Phoebes this year than normal could be > directly tied to the increasing presence of European Paper Wasps on our > scene. I told him without direct evidence, it was a stretch, but a > question worth continuing to investigate. > > So, I am asking, has anyone out there seen a Say's Phoebe visiting a > little wasp comb under an eave? Have you seen any other bird species > tearing apart a wasp comb under an eave (flicker, barn swallow, etc.)? > Inquiring minds want to know. Assuming, hoping, some meaty anecdotes are > out there, this might be the subject of a future "The Hungry Bird" column > in "Colorado Birds". Thanks. > > Dave Leatherman > Fort Collins > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Colorado Birds" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/SNT148-W2773D0BD9313289BB62A3C1D00%40phx.gbl > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/SNT148-W2773D0BD9313289BB62A3C1D00%40phx.gbl?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAGdTUTZ8V8tJbdqr-VubRKnTxDM9MehVt7tfjckH_fr95rPGfQ%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
