Steer Clear of Jack Spaniard Wasp Nests

 

They seem to be everywhere these days. In our yard, on the deck rafters, along the edges of trails, and even underneath the car mirror! Because their nests are made out of a papery substance, they like to build where there is some cover overhead.  

 

 

Their nests are usually suspended from a thin strand called a petiole, and constructed out of a mixture of chewed up wood and plant fibers held together with saliva. The nests have small cells like cubby holes where the eggs are placed, and where the developing larvae are later fed. 

 

I really respect these wasps for their industrious building activity, but I still don’t really welcome them around our house because they have a frightful sting. I have read that they are not aggressive unless their nest is disturbed. However, the nests are often in places where you can brush by them unintentionally. If that happens, you should run away if you can. Unlike bees, these wasps can sting repeatedly. Though the venom in their stingers is designed to paralyze small prey, like caterpillars and soft insects, it can be quite painful to experience, and could even trigger allergic reactions in some people. 

 

The name Jack Spaniard (sometimes ‘spaniel’ or ‘spanna’) is used for several types of paper wasps found in the Caribbean. I thought the name might refer to the vicious sharp swords and steel-tipped lances carried by the Spanish conquistadors, though another theory is that their coloring looked similar to the uniforms of the Spanish soldiers.    

 

I was surprised to learn that there are actually two similar types of ‘Jack Spaniards’ in my yard. One type has the Latin name Polistes crinitus. They have reddish-brown abdomens with yellow stripes.  

 

 

The other type is Mischocyttarus phthisicus. These slightly smaller wasps have black abdomens with yellow stripes, except that the last segment is reddish-brown. Also their antennas are different in color than the larger wasps. (I couldn’t find information on other differences, so maybe will have to observe them more closely.) 

 

 

Besides eating caterpillars, both these wasps are attracted to sugary nectar. Their nectar-seeking visits allow them to carry pollen from one flower to another, and in the process to serve as valuable pollinators. 

 

 

I have also sometimes seen the wasps investigating sweet fruits. 

 

 

When wasps appear at the sugar feeders in my yard, the Bananaquits will usually take off. It seems like they too are afraid of getting stung. Not all birds are afraid of them though. Some insect eaters like Gray Kingbirds and Caribbean Elaenias will catch the wasps as they fly around.  

 

Like bees and other paper wasps, the Jack Spaniards have one queen who lays all the eggs. The other non-reproducing ones feed, support and defend the group in what is called a ‘eusocial’ arrangement. It appears to be working well for them. Although they were badly affected by the 2017 hurricanes, losing their homes as well as their food supplies, they have recovered well and seem to be thriving.  

 

A Young Flamingo Dances on St. John’s South Shore

 

Flamingos rarely come to St. John, so I was delighted that we had one here in December, just in time for the annual Christmas bird count. A group of adults and juveniles had been spotted at a different south shore pond back in October, but I had missed them. Maybe this was one that decided to stay on by itself, or to come back. 

 

When I first went by, the flamingo seemed to be doing a sort of dance as it preened its feathers. Or maybe it was just enjoying stretching out its wings and legs. 

 

Some of the poses were touching, especially when it tucked up its foot and wrapped its neck around as if giving itself a warm hug. 

 

         

 

My son pointed out that ‘flamenco’ is Spanish for flamingo, so maybe it wasn’t so surprising that these birds appear to be graceful dancers. At one point the flamingo even seemed to be inviting a pair of White-cheeked Pintail Ducks to join in the dance. 

 

          

 

This bird wasn’t the bright pink you expect from a flamingo, though. It takes the young ones several years to get their full color and, in the meantime, they have black and white feathers, and pale pink legs and throats. 

 

          

 

They also have to have a proper diet. Their pink coloration as adults comes from carotenoids in microscopic algae, which flamingos are able to metabolize to create pigments in their feathers. They can eat the algae directly, or get the carotenoids from eating brine shrimp or other tiny creatures that also feed on the algae growing in shallow, salty ponds. 

  

The way flamingos eat is really interesting to watch. They put their heads down under the water and shuffle their feet around to kick up edible stuff off the bottom of the pond. Their bills are facing their feet, and they use their tongues to push the kicked-up water through their mouths, while filter plates along the edges trap the edible bits.  

 

       

Eating behavior is not as graceful as the preening poses, mostly because the bird’s head is underwater. However, its shuffling feet move around in a circle, and you can imagine the joy of a whole chorus line of big pink birds dancing by.   

 

Looking at the flamingo standing upright, you can see that the lower part of the jaw is much thicker that the top part. That part is fixed to its skull and doesn’t move. Underwater, the thick part is on top as the bird faces backwards, and the thinner part flaps up and down to push food in the water into its mouth. 

 

 

There used to be quite a few flamingos in the Virgin Islands, but they died out not too long ago, probably due to a mix of hunting, hurricanes, predation and loss of habitat. 

 

In the British Virgin Islands, a small flock of flamingos was reintroduced in Anegada in 1992, and more recently another group was brought to Necker Island by Richard Branson. Those flocks have been breeding and growing, and some birds have spread to other parts of the BVI, with occasional visitors to St. Thomas and St. John that are enthusiastically welcomed.

 

It certainly would be fun for St. John to have its own flock of flamingos – a group is actually called a ‘flamboyance’. However, on Anegada the flamingos ended up moving to parts of the island inaccessible by road in order to avoid being aggravated by eager observers, so maybe they are really better off staying in more remote places.