Can anyone guess what this is?

Believe it or not, this is a hornet’s nest - yes, that's the insect that looks and stings like a wasp.

Some hornets had built this mud nest in our solar power control room (which has to remain completely free of any dust or dirt), so sadly Ian had to break the nest off the wall. We were quite fascinated by what was revealed within, when looking at the nest from the back, where it would have been stuck to the wall.

The tale of the breeding hornet is quite macabre so if you’re squeamish, stop reading now…

The parent hornets collect caterpillars (seen here in green), bring them back to their mud nest and place them in a compartment. While the caterpillars are still alive, the female hornets lay an egg inside them. When the eggs hatch, the larvae (the plump white things in the photo) eat their way out of the caterpillars, a ready-made fresh food source, killing them in the process. If you look closely, you can see some dried up remains of the dead caterpillars, still in the nest beside the fat larvae and alongside the brand new hornets, which you can see pupating and already taking the insect’s adult form.

Close-up of the doomed caterpillars, each of which has had a hornet's egg laid inside it, which will hatch and kill it.
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Unattractive in the extreme: fat, squidgy hornet larvae
Starting to take on the adult form: hornet pupae developing

Gruesome it may be, but incredible nonetheless that even a simple insect like a hornet could have such a complex, ultimately sophisticated life cycle, providing fresh food and housing for its young until they too are ready to embark into the world, seek out some hapless caterpillars, and start the cycle all over again. It makes you ask yourself, is every single creature (and indeed plant) in nature equally complex, with an equally fascinating story to tell, if only you take the time to look closely enough?

Sadly for our voracious hornet nestlings, they never had the chance to spread their wings, for their parents had chosen the wrong place to nest, in a place where we couldn’t possibly leave them be without jeopardizing our entire electrical power system.

But do not fear: our developing hornets did not go to waste. We laid the nest on the bird table, thinking that the starlings would enjoy this feast, so high in protein and fat.

As it happened, the birds didn’t get a look in, for the first on the scene was the male Rainbow Skink who has made our balcony his home. (Incidentally, another skink family has taken up residence under the fridge in the kitchen.)

This sharp-eyed skink was not going to let this windfall meal pass him by, and he systematically devoured the contents of the hornets’ nest - larvae, caterpillars, pupae and all - until it was a completely empty shell. I don’t think even one tiny morsel was left for the birds…

Click any image to enlarge it

Speaking of industrious insects, the other day I saw this band of ants moving their enormous clutch of eggs from one place to the other, and in the process crossing those equally fascinating plants which I, for want of knowing their proper name, call my Tsavo Succulent Clones (see my earlier description of these amazing plants in my diary entry for 23rd October 2007). We were also visited by a rather handsome Praying Mantis who spent all day sitting on the canvas back of one of our chairs on the balcony...I only mention him in passing here, because I thought he deserved a picture and this seems as good a spot as any to place him...

A huddle of ants move their thousand-strong clutch of eggs across our balcony flowerbed
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Ants moving eggs in close-up...
Our perfectly poised Praying Mantis

View more photos of Insects, Snakes and other Creepy-Crawlies...

Want to see some images of adult hornets? Check these out:
Hornet on white flowers - image one
Hornet on white flowers - image two
Hornet on white flowers - front view