Very strange

[Spectrum]

Yesterday we could hear a wasp in the lounge making a right racket, I have heard the noise in the past in another house, and it was a wasp trying to get out of its cocoon, but I thought it may be trapped so we shook the curtain from where the noise was coming from and out flew a wasp. This morning same noise differant curtain, same result also a noise in the kitchen, so opened up all the curtains and sure enough there was two/three cocoons on two of them all empty, looked at the tea towel the source of the noise, and hand towel and there was two on the tea towel. As we have electric shutters we don't use the curtains but the tea towel was a clean one on Friday, again not used much as the Dishwasher does the work. So they have been building these literally under our noses, and we never heard of them or saw them, what's annoying we have an commercial insect killer in the kitchen, but not attractive enough it seems.

[niemeyjt]

Are wasps attracted to UV at this time of year?

[Doug]

They are probably wood wasps, smaller than the usual wasp and built individual cacoons instead of a large nestlike thingy in the ground, tree or building, and more agressive.
We have loads here and they build their cacoons all over the place including the gap in car doors, open the fuel flap to fill up and see loads.
Open a drawer in my man shed and see dozens of the buggers.

[exile]

Life cycle of wasps

1. build cocoons and put in food source
2. lay eggs
3. eggs hatch and the nymphs (instars) start to feed
4. The instars go through several stages.
5. Instars pupate
6. After transformation to adult wasp, the wasp emerges.

That process takes a lot more than a long weekend.

[Spectrum]

Life cycle of wasps

1. build cocoons and put in food source
2. lay eggs
3. eggs hatch and the nymphs (instars) start to feed
4. The instars go through several stages.
5. Instars pupate
6. After transformation to adult wasp, the wasp emerges.

That process takes a lot more than a long weekend.

Yes I had an idea that it would take time but when we bake bread and take it out I cover it with a clean tea towel, then when it cooled down give the towel a shake and swap it over with the older one, this was done at the latest on Thursday/ Friday so quick workers? Thanks for that Doug, its sounds like that what they are. Its a new kitchen so they cannot get into the draws earlier, and I would have seen them as I covered up the loaf.

[Doug]

Forgot to say that in this heat we keep shutters closed, windows open in rooms not used and the little buggers cover the curtains with their cacoons.