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Big Leaf, Tiny Wasp’s Nest.

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Monday, 4 January 2010

Big Leaf, Tiny Wasp’s Nest.

I have had this big loquat leaf on my table for a couple months now. I found it while watching bees who were busy on the loquat flowers and wondered why a wasp would start a nest in such a precarious place as the exposed surface of a leaf. Presumably the wasp felt the same and after making only 6 exquisite cells, abandoned this one for a more secure location. It was also strange that the same day I discovered a paper wasp’s nest neatly tucked under the concrete balustrade of our terrace.

The wasps are still there and are quite beautiful, slender and delicate. I hope to paint one very soon. At the moment the weather is icy so they have formed a huddle on top of the nest. I wonder if they will survive. I wonder if I will survive. Florida apartments are not built for cold weather.

Paper wasp nest cells on Loquat Leaf:

Pencil Drawing on cartridge paper 12”

The leaf is about 10 inches long. The leaf had dried out and curled in on itself, hiding those nice serrated edges

.

Labels: paper wasp, pencil drawing, wasp, wasp nest

3 Comments:

John said...: That is such a lovely drawing. I've come back to it repeatably today.; 6 January 2010 at 01:36
greenman said...: What to say about perfection?
(I have no words); 6 January 2010 at 13:17
sharp green pencil said...: Thankyou both so much. It's nice to get back to some pencil work. I had thought about a bigger version of the wasps nest alone but the leaf shape was so beautiful.( the I think easier than the wasps nest!!); 11 January 2010 at 13:31

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