Wasp Spider nest

My aunt had spotted a white colored bulb-shaped nest in one of the mango trees next to her house. She remembered to show it to us during our cycling stopover last Sunday. The nest is anchored to the end of a stem. It's made of silky white threads woven around dry blades of grass or some kind of fibrous material. The nest's entrance, an inch in diameter is at the top. The nest is spherical, approximately 2.5" in diameter.

The spider has chosen a site carefully, its not visible in plain sight. The nest is concealed behind a curtain of leaves. One can spot it only on careful observation or by chance. I think my aunt saw it by chance, assumed it to be a bird's nest. As I know birds build nests with grass, twigs, leaves, etc. I'm unaware of any bird that weaves silky nests. With little research I happened to stumble on a photo of a similar looking nest with a caption "wasp spider nest." I know there are wasp spiders in these trees, had shot one many years ago. You can take a look at it here- tiger spider. Its limbs are yellow-black, like a tiger's pattern.

Here's another view of the nest. The nest could be several weeks old going by its looks.

I'll check it out during my next visit, let's see if there are changes to the nest. And, here's a picture of a wasp spider I shot some day in January 2010.

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Wasp Hive

July 6, 2013

During a visit to Bangalore last week, Durga my niece and I had been to General Post Office to renew her philately subscription. The Philatelic Bureau is located in the second floor of the building which is a good 40' above the ground level. While walking the corridor I noticed this nest hanging from branches of a jack fruit tree.

On the next was an insect.. yellow and black. I said it was a bee; Durga corrected me- Siddesh its not a bee, it's a wasp.

The hive has several entrances at the top. The inside will have several layers of hexagonal cells.

Close look at the surface and an entrance

Do check this small post.

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ants' stitched nests

May 24, 5-30 PM at Botanical Garden, Karnatak University Dharwad.

In the area between the main gate and the nursery, I noticed ant nests on few trees such as Terminalia bellerica (Beleric or Bastard Myrobalan), Dalbergia sissoo and Polyalthia longifolia (false Ashoka). Some nests were quite new while others were old; I guessed it by the color of the leaves. Leaves were not separated from the trees in Beleric and false Ashoka trees; that way the nests were anchored to the tree. Nests in Dalbergia were made of leaves separated, however few leaves remain attached providing anchorage to the nest. These nests were probably made by the same species of ant. The white binding material was common in all nests.

Terminalia bellerica

Terminalia bellerica

Dalbergia sissoo

Dalbergia sissoo

Polyalthia longifolia

Polyalthia longifolia

To see more nests click on the label nests.
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Jack-fruit leaf nest

Close to our office building is a jack-fruit tree about 50' tall. Near the tree top are several ant nests.

Closer look at one nest. This nest could be made of 30 to 35 leaves. The white material must be the binding material.

Ants are not just great explorers, they are expert builders too.
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Ant nest made of rain tree leaves

A nest constructed by red ants using rain tree leaves. This nest's approximate measurement & weight: 9" x 5½" x 4" and 20 grams.

This was found on our office building's terrace by my colleague Arati U Yaligar.

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Rain tree leaves nest

A ant nest made of Rain tree leaves found by my colleague Shilpa Vernekar on our office building's terrace.

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Leaf-cutter bee nest

This 3" long leaf-nest was found by my colleague Shilpa Vernekar on our office terrace.

Note: post title has been edited based on comment.

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Pigeon nest

These pictures were shot some time January 2011. Even though the nest looks like a heap of twigs, there's some method in placing them. The twigs are positioned such that when the eggs hatch, the nest is capable of stopping young chicks from wandering away.


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Grey Francolin eggs

A Grey francolin (Teetar) nest with three eggs was seen in open fields.

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