Nature reserve worker chooses coexistence as growing nest takes over bookshelf inside converted shipping-container workplace
NORFOLK: A wildlife reserve manager in eastern England has turned an unexpected wasp invasion into an unusual experiment in coexistence after allowing thousands of insects to build a huge nest inside her office.
Eilish Rothney, reserve manager for the Trinity Broads at Norfolk Wildlife Trust, discovered wasps entering through a rusted gap in the door of her converted shipping-container office in June.
Initially, Rothney considered removing the colony. However, she reconsidered and decided there was no immediate reason to destroy it.
Two months later, the nest has grown more than a metre tall and covers an entire bookshelf. Thousands of cells made from chewed wood pulp have also created layers of different colours across the structure.
Manager Adapts Office Around Growing Colony
Instead of removing the wasps, Rothney opened a window to provide them with a direct flight path. Consequently, she says, the insects have continued their activities without causing problems while she works nearby.
The queen continuously lays eggs while workers collect food for developing larvae. Meanwhile, Rothney hears a distinctive humming sound from the nest, which she believes comes from thousands of wings helping regulate its temperature.
She also argues that people should reconsider automatically treating wasps and other insects as pests.
Colony Expected to Disappear by Winter
Furthermore, Rothney says wasps become particularly noticeable around food during late summer because larvae stop producing the sugary secretion that normally feeds adult workers.
She encourages people to tolerate the insects rather than kill them simply for convenience.
However, the unusual office-sharing arrangement will naturally end as temperatures fall.
During autumn, the queen will stop laying eggs, while workers and males will gradually die. New queens will leave and hibernate independently.
By winter, the remarkable nest should stand empty.
Rothney plans to carefully dismantle it afterward to examine its intricate internal structure.
