Other OccupantsPicture of the Week: European Paper Wasps & Peterson Boxes

Picture of the Week: European Paper Wasps & Peterson Boxes

European Paper Wasp in bluebird nestbox
European Paper Wasp nest – photo by Bet Zimmerman Smith. Click here for full resolution version.

European Paper Wasps ((Polistes dominulus) are introduced, and can be a major pest in nestboxes. They like to build nests in the indentation underneath the floor of a Peterson style nestbox. To prevent nest construction, simply stuff crumpled up silver foil, a plastic bag, or a paper towel in the indentation. See more tips for identifying, deterring and dealing with paper wasp invasions.

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Previous Pictures of the Week: © Original photographs are copyrighted, and may not be used without the permission of the photographer. Please honor their copyright protection. If you would like to use a photo for educational purposes, you can contact me.


You cannot begin to preserve any species of animal unless you preserve the habitat in which it dwells. Disturb or destroy that habitat and you will exterminate the species as surely as if you had shot it. So conservation means that you have to preserve forest and grassland, river and lake, even the sea itself. This is vital not only for the preservation of animal life generally, but for the future existence of man himself—a point that seems to escape many people.
-Gerald Durrell, The Nature Conservancy


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