
Every summer, these paper wasps start a nest in my corrugated steel garden shed. Sometimes two nests. Or three, or more. One year I think there were six. Usually the nests get to be just a few cells before something goes wrong and mommy never comes back from hunting. (There's a small abandoned nest visible in the background, upper left.)
But this nest seems to be doing pretty well. As of dusk this evening, there were 8 adults and a couple of hundred cells, a dozen of them capped over with silk. So things should be just humming along, real soon now.
I thought this picture had a nice angle, maybe a bit different from what you usually see. Enjoy the view!

By the way, I don't understand all of what I'm seeing in this picture. The left-most couple of cells clearly contain larvae. I presume the two rightmost cells in the second row contain eggs, on the cell side toward the bottom of this picture. But then what's the large amorphous lump of light tan stuff in those same cells? Betty?
--Rik
Technical: Canon 300D, ISO 100, Sigma 105 mm macro at 1:1, marked f/22. Electronic flash with Kleenex diffuser, hand-held at lens end. Slight crop to about 85%, giving about 19 mm frame width.
Edit: change title for later postings.