A Hornet's Nest!

This evening we went for a walk around the block and visited the Monarch way-station field - we had hoped to see activity there on the milkweed plants at some point in Soring/Summer but the flowers are long over and the seed pods formed.

The pods are pale and quite soft at present but will grow and change colour and eventually burst to release fluffy cotton- like tufts.  There are no signs of Monarch caterpillars having eaten the leaves so perhaps they didn't visit this way-station this year.

The side of the field is quite damp so there are bulrushes growing.

A little further along and just above head height over a path that cuts across the edge of the field we came across this very active nest..

Rather sinister looking and about the size of a rugby ball, you can see the insects coming out of the hole and on the top of the nest.  We looked them up - they are Bald Faced Hornets, although not a true hornet - about half an inch long and a member of the wasp family.  We have since read that they are protective of their nests so we will give them a wider berth next time..

We walked back by a different path and saw a second nest, this time around a tree trunk and further from the path.

Each nest is a work of art, layers of papery wood apparently up to two inches thick to protect from heat and cold.

Anyway enough of those.  We saw a plant which I didn't recognise with rather an unassuming second flowering but some rather impressive seed pods..

We shall watch with interest to see how these ripen and develop.