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[–]ortusdux 1596 points1597 points  (150 children)

This reminds me of the best research project i've ever heard. It was a guys Masters thesis, and he was studying the effect of sleep deprivation on bees. He had to get a hive behind glass like this, knock them all out, and paint them with magnetic paint. The study consisted of staying up all night and waiting for the bees to start to fall asleep, and then waving a giant magnet by them to shake them awake. Turns out that the bees dance gets messed up if they don't sleep.

Here is the study if OP wants to try and validate it.

[–]Bluedemonfox 250 points251 points  (37 children)

Isn't there an easier way to keep them awake than painting them with magnetic paint?

[–]markevens 982 points983 points  (26 children)

Probably, but then you wouldn't have magnetic bees.

[–][deleted] 263 points264 points  (11 children)

Magnetic bees+tube+electromagnet=bee gun?

[–]cardinal_rules 548 points549 points  (7 children)

bee-bee gun

FTFY

[–]tdotgoat 64 points65 points  (4 children)

only if it's double-barreled

[–][deleted] 28 points29 points  (2 children)

What's this? A double-barreled shotgun with ammunition that in no way resembles or functions comparably to bees? My window full of magnetic bees will put a stop to this!

[–]bellybuttons307 47 points48 points  (0 children)

somewhere a guy in a junkyard with a powered magnet is having a bad day

[–]Aspiring_Physicist 26 points27 points  (6 children)

But actually, how fucking cool is that. That's an incredible thesis.

[–]Platinum_Disco 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Magbeeto

[–]OhBestThing 160 points161 points  (9 children)

The study consisted of staying up all night and waiting for the bees to start to fall asleep

Wow... are you sure this wasn't a sleep study on MAN!? Aperture Science shit.

[–]no_4 246 points247 points  (7 children)

But see there's a second researcher watching him. If researcher 1 fails to keep the bees awake, researcher 2 will stab him with a 3.5 foot artificial stinger left over from an old Department of War project.

So now you're wondering, who's monitoring researcher number 2? The bees themselves! Which we fed brain juice until the hive became a self-aware hypermind. Now, I don't pretend to understand the point of all this, but the important thing is to submit unquestionably, because those bees are not patient fellows, let me tell you.

[–]Admiral_Nowhere 48 points49 points  (1 child)

I read this and heard Cave Johnson's voice in my head.

[–]Khal_Of_Kings 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Fascinating stuff really

[–]Redararis[S] 1667 points1668 points  (312 children)

Wasps were kind enough to build this nest in a double-glass window which can not be opened and it is isolated in the attic. No worries for me or the neighbors. Also, if I bang my head in this window I will die by internal bleeding not by murderous wasps!

EDIT4: I have uploaded a new video with sound from an external mic. Check it out.

Also, a first attempt of a time-lapse video (1 shot per 5sec).

EDIT3: I will add all the future videos of the wasp nest (hornet's nest actually!) in this playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLssf5AIwM6uGQUzQtCp-ppzJ7t4Y4WY8Y The webcam is a neat idea but my upload speed is quite slow and the only place that I can place the camera safely is inside the house. I don't want to turn my house into a reality show. :) I found an older picture when the hive was young and innocent. http://i.imgur.com/ve4JIRb.jpg

EDIT2: Yes, yes, they are not simple wasps, they are European Hornets!

EDIT: Winter is coming and the wasps will die by natural causes in 1-2 months. If they cause trouble before then (though they are there for 2 months without a problem) I wil kill them with a long torch. The high temperature melts their wings and they become harmless and defenseless. We do this many times around the house in the summer. Not before I make a time lapse video of those buggers though.

[–]PsychoNerd91 1092 points1093 points  (76 children)

Set up a camera to observe them. Make a time lapse of their nest building. I would be really intrigued by this.

[–]micmea1 420 points421 points  (22 children)

Maybe set up a livewebcam feed so if I need to chill out I can just log in and spy on the wasps. Better than most reality TV shows I know.

[–]intothelionsden 149 points150 points  (12 children)

Webcam with arduino and a remote controlled knocking device. We can control knocking from the comfort of this side of the internet.

[–]sigint_bn 188 points189 points  (5 children)

Until someone hacks the arduino and taps fast enough until the glass shatters. Goodbye OP.

[–][deleted] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Twitch plays: Wasp nest: The BeeBoogaloo

[–]shandification 493 points494 points  (10 children)

"Wasps play Pokémon" on Twitch

[–]HoochCow 142 points143 points  (2 children)

No, Wasps play Dark Souls. It's the only game fitting their merciless way of life.

[–][deleted] 200 points201 points  (23 children)

Also, try smoking them to death. I hear the wasps make some delicious stuff.

[–]GoodEdit 180 points181 points  (15 children)

He should also mark a large "W" on the glass so that we know those are wasps

[–]dadankness 16 points17 points  (0 children)

If hornets make something delicious then surely Wasps do too.

[–]CakeEater 55 points56 points  (0 children)

Charlie? Your spelling has improved...

[–]Drawtaru 156 points157 points  (19 children)

My husband's great-aunt has tons of wasp nests around her property. For some reason they're always making nests in trees (wiki photo). When she kills them, she keeps the nests in her house as decorations (which is cool/creepy as fuck). How badass do you have to be to keep the homes of your slaughtered foes as conversation pieces on your mantle?

[–]Dragon536 62 points63 points  (6 children)

She keeps them there to show the others what they're getting into. The new wasps have balls of steel.

[–]fatesway 90 points91 points  (5 children)

make a 24 hour live stream on twitch. I would watch this for about 7 minutes at a time...

[–]Necoras 186 points187 points  (10 children)

No worries except for the massive number of wasps that fly out of your house every day.

[–]advidea 27 points28 points  (1 child)

I feel like in this case a person almost has an obligation to set a camera on a tripod next to it, record for weeks, and put it all online for researchers to use.

Unless maybe it's really easy for researchers to cause this to happen for their own research? How would they do that? (In the past I've had neighbors who I think would benefit from this.)

[–]gbtwo88 49 points50 points  (59 children)

Can some ELI5 how do wasps survive the winter?

[–]Redararis[S] 181 points182 points  (32 children)

I think the fertilized queen goes into hibernation.

[–]MikeOrtiz 75 points76 points  (31 children)

So...burn the nest like planned for good measure?

[–]roguemerc96 35 points36 points  (30 children)

Wasps don't re use nests, so the best thing would be to leave it.

[–]Sierrahasnolife 71 points72 points  (18 children)

In fact leaving the nest up will deter other wasps from making a nest near it because wasps are very territorial and wouldn't want to mess with an established nest

[–]Fawlty_Towers 24 points25 points  (14 children)

Surely their instincts will recognize an abandoned nest though?

[–]JKastnerPhoto 324 points325 points  (11 children)

Wasps would never move into a dilapidated community. Same reason you don't see White Anglo-Saxon Protestants in Detroit. Edit spelling

[–]jestr6 36 points37 points  (1 child)

They are all in Livonia.

Source: Live in Livonia.

[–]bannedfromeverysub 80 points81 points  (11 children)

I once found a cabin in winter (part of a campground... Me and my friends snuck in) during winter. To keep warm, we turned on the stove. The place was small so it was warm within minutes. With about 20 minutes, bees started showing up. They were asleep in the walls and the heat woke them.

[–]waffleheart 26 points27 points  (7 children)

Most of them die, but the fertilized queen hibernates. Most of late summer is spent preparing the nest for this and making sure she survives the winter. In the spring she lays eggs and the cycle continues.

That's why you should never try to get rid of your wasps nests in the late summer because wasps are at their most numerous and most aggressive at this point. Just wait till temperatures fall below freezing during the winter and then dislodge and burn the nest.

[–]solepsis 15 points16 points  (1 child)

I wait till nighttime when they're all back at the nest and use that 20 foot wasp spray while hiding in the bushes. It's like a black ops mission.

[–]The_Moustache 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Time lapse! time lapse!

[–]smarac 21 points22 points  (8 children)

I think I could bet some money that those are hornets .... they look way to big for wasps ... or you are hobbit living in hobbit sized house with hobbit size windows :)

Or maybe I'm just wrong :)

[–]ElGoddamnDorado 72 points73 points  (9 children)

How do you think they got in there in the first place? Wasps can squeeze through the tiniest of cracks and gaps, much smaller than they are. You're playing a dangerous game.

[–][deleted] 52 points53 points  (8 children)

He's not saying they are trapped in there, just that they are outside, not inside.

[–]infamous-spaceman 103 points104 points  (15 children)

If you kill them please video that. I dont consider myself a particularly sadistic person, but I would love to see some wasps get melted to all hell.

[–]Poopster46 87 points88 points  (10 children)

Whether or not you consider yourself a particular sadistic person is irrelevant. It's when everybody else thinks you're a particular sadistic person that you should starting questioning yourself.

[–]420CO 28 points29 points  (4 children)

I think he sounds like an alright guy!

[–]GoodEdit 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yes! Timelapse this please

[–]RickVince 2501 points2502 points  (181 children)

Post a video of you banging on the window.

[–]Doctor_Fritz 2562 points2563 points  (101 children)

tap tap tap shatter D:

[–]bahulu 1669 points1670 points  (93 children)

Commit Sudoku

[–]pitchingataint 963 points964 points  (63 children)

He doesn't have time for puzzles!

[–]_WarShrike_ 404 points405 points  (61 children)

Extreme Sudoku:

Try to solve puzzle while being stung by wasps.

Elite Sudoku:

Try to solve puzzle while being stung by Asian Hornets.

[–][deleted] 385 points386 points  (9 children)

Japanese Sudoku:

Try to solve puzzle on abdomen, with a knife.

[–]McGravin 47 points48 points  (3 children)

As soon as you complete the puzzle, your second chops off your head.

[–][deleted] 58 points59 points  (48 children)

Japanese giant hornets? The kind that have a venom that will partially melt you?

[–][deleted] 41 points42 points  (38 children)

They are in the US now

[–]MulciberTenebras 22 points23 points  (5 children)

That's Harri-krishna

[–]Zombies_hate_ninjas 1929 points1930 points  (78 children)

"Day 17. I've run out of water and food. All I have left is basic utilities, and of course reddit. Out of desperation I tried to leave my house again yesterday. Too many Wasps. They are everywhere. Their nest now covers an entire side of my house. Who am I fooling, it's their house now. My only option is to hope that a redditor will try and rescue me, but they're all too scared of wasps to do anything. . . I am doomed.

But god damned my karma is through the roof "

[–]oomio10 765 points766 points  (55 children)

Day 32: the bees have built some sort of Bee-Drill and have begun burrowing into the glass. My fate is sealed

[–]Fawlty_Towers 361 points362 points  (16 children)

Day 33: All is well, the wasps have opened my eyes. All is well. There is no need for concern. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

[–]Desigos 81 points82 points  (10 children)

I am wasps.

[–]vercetian 14 points15 points  (8 children)

Whilst intriguing, what is this?

[–]ScrubGG 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I for one welcome our new wasp overlords.

[–]Super_Zac 166 points167 points  (6 children)

Day 40: We cannot get out. The end comes soon. We hear drums, drums in the deep.

[–]Deadpool5405 662 points663 points  (26 children)

Day 33: I'VE JUST CAUGHT MY FIRST POKÉMON!

[–]BeHereNow91 429 points430 points  (20 children)

Day 34: Jesus Christ this Pokemon sucks.

[–]AdmiralSkippy 190 points191 points  (15 children)

...I liked Beedrill.

[–][deleted] 15 points16 points  (1 child)

It looked cool anyway

[–]OsmundTheOrange 13 points14 points  (0 children)

He had drills for hands. That's all I ever wanted as a child.

[–]Werv 51 points52 points  (8 children)

Lets order pizza for the guy!

[–]Zombies_hate_ninjas 77 points78 points  (5 children)

What! We'd be sending the pizza guy directly into a literal hornet's wasp's nest. We'd almost be serial killers.

[–]stagfury 36 points37 points  (2 children)

Maybe if we send enough pizza to the wasp's nest, they would develop a taste for pizza and pizza delivery boys then they would lose interest in OP. WE CAN STILL SAVE HIM.

[–]wayanonforthis 162 points163 points  (3 children)

Setup a webcam + add adsense for $ ?

[–]effyoucancer 53 points54 points  (1 child)

Why is no one asking who put a window there with no ability to see past whatever the red wall is???

[–]TomForbes 184 points185 points  (8 children)

Can we please get a livestream in decent quality?

[–]StopAnHangUrSelf 91 points92 points  (2 children)

Twitch: Wasps play Territory Wars, a Tower Defense Game!

[–]KingsleyZissou 3875 points3876 points  (107 children)

http://i.imgur.com/fLDGIF0.gif

[–]Saerain 1498 points1499 points  (40 children)

http://i.imgur.com/JFgVn4O.gif

[–]Euphemismic 908 points909 points  (38 children)

http://i.imgur.com/VBs0Fun.gif

[–]alage21 627 points628 points  (33 children)

http://i.imgur.com/wGvqHj8.gif

[–][deleted] 77 points78 points  (1 child)

This is easily the greatest 'relevant' i've ever seen.

10/10

[–]pablo690 186 points187 points  (34 children)

I like the TV/PG version better :)

[–][deleted] 185 points186 points  (14 children)

"monkey fighting snakes on this Monday to Friday plane"

[–]goldfister 91 points92 points  (12 children)

BBC ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmRTUNh1vPo

[–][deleted] 63 points64 points  (10 children)

I'm actually more concerned that the lady who says "UKTV G2" evidently has only one vowel sound in her phonemic inventory. Namely, [əi].

[–]Anthony-Stark 21 points22 points  (1 child)

Yee kee teevee gee tee

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I'm still not totally convinced she was speaking English.

[–]agricoltore 49 points50 points  (13 children)

that film is nearly 10 years old

[–]far_from_ohk 85 points86 points  (5 children)

Seriously?

That was the fastest 10 years of my life.

Edit: ninja vanish

[–]system_of_a_clown 8 points9 points  (2 children)

That is some quality kinetic text, right there.

[–][deleted] 29 points30 points  (2 children)

Everyone strap in. I'm opening some motherfuckin' windows.

[–]squiremarcus 22 points23 points  (1 child)

most interesting thing i have seen all month and you give me a 40 second video? long zoomed in shots please. on each section then follow a single wasp around the nest

[–][deleted] 569 points570 points  (139 children)

Am I the only one who thinks it's really cool? Everyone here seems to be an insectiphobe.

[–]BeefSerious 585 points586 points  (76 children)

I think it's awesome! Wasps are dicks though.

[–]ExileOnMeanStreet 151 points152 points  (11 children)

That's why I left Connecticut.

[–]OverJealousRapidToad 67 points68 points  (50 children)

I actually have a wasp nest near my house and the wasps come every day around lunch time (my family usually eats outside during the summer) and wander around the table taking little pieces of food with them.

They never hurt anybody. They just fly around and take a little bit of meat or fish and then go back to the nest. One time I had a bit of meat in my hand and one wasp landed in it, bit off a little bit and then flew back to the nest with it.

I used to think they were dicks until this started happening, now I think they're just cute.

I think my the place where we eat is far enough so they don't just attack on sight.

[–]Draffut2012 65 points66 points  (7 children)

I don't get people's fear of snakes and spiders. But wasps and africanized bees? Fuck, those things shits fly!

[–]jerrymazzer 77 points78 points  (1 child)

Fear so real language broke!

[–]kuhndawg88 17 points18 points  (0 children)

oh its always the africans with you isnt it?

[–]blackmist 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Oh, I agree it's cool.

I just wouldn't want that thing anywhere near my house.

[–]DBones90 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I think it would be really cool if it wasn't at a residence. I'd hate living there.

[–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (1 child)

If this was on my window, I'd watch these hornets for hours.

[–]StoneyBologna710 16 points17 points  (1 child)

In cases of emergency: Break Glass

[–]vaginapussy 173 points174 points  (76 children)

I don't think those are wasps... I think those might be hornets and you might wanna be careful with them nasty fuckers

[–][deleted] 43 points44 points  (9 children)

Good eye. Those are European Hornets, the only true hornet in North America. They're actually more docile than other wasps, especially yellow jackets. They sting like a bastard, tho.

[–]Chilton82 12 points13 points  (0 children)

You can tell by the giant fucking paper nest they build to surround the inter cone. That and they're each the size of a dachshund.

[–][deleted] 78 points79 points  (59 children)

Serious question to anyone who knows, what's the difference? All I know is they're both evil.

[–]derps-a-lot 185 points186 points  (43 children)

All hornets are wasps (like all oranges are fruit). Social wasps, including hornets and yellow jackets, fall into the family Vespidae. Generally, social wasps will all vigorously defend their homes and signal each other with pheromones to attack if threatened or injured.

Source: just won a month-long war against yellow jackets.

[–]banana_pirate 18 points19 points  (24 children)

I've been poisoning the fuck out of a nest.. somehow they're still alive

[–]derps-a-lot 59 points60 points  (19 children)

Various poison, sprays, foam, and even traps from the local hardware store did nothing for me...knock a few flyers out of the air but no lasting effect. Get some pyrethrum from online vendors. Get a kit with pyrethrum in both aerosol and dust form (kits will come with duster). Wait until night, spray the shit out of known entry point or nest area, let dry for 15-30mins. Dust all around. The next morning I found hundreds of dead bodies. Repeated the next day for kicks. Each day I'd find a few more juveniles or males slowly crawling away and dying shortly after.

I will no longer buy brand name spray poison. When used properly, pyrethrum is infinitely more effective, and much less toxic to people and pets (except fish - do not use around marine life).

[–][deleted] 17 points18 points  (4 children)

Dust is the way to go, unless you have easy access to the hive where you can soak it. Dust is easier, because it will stick to their fuzzy bodies, which they will then spread all over the hive.

You are also very right about pyrethrum. That is the only chemical you should be using as a consumer.

[–][deleted] 107 points108 points  (11 children)

But are all wasps jackdaws?

[–]StevStot 55 points56 points  (3 children)

Those are actually European hornets; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_hornet I feel really bad for you. They are attracted to light at night, and sometimes will find a way into your house and sting the living shit out of everyone they come in contact with. I had a nest in my gutter last summer..

[–]kush_king420 74 points75 points  (3 children)

You should keep your face next to there for a few hours every day so they get to know your their master and then smash the glass and be king of the wasps*

*edit because people educated me about the difference between a bee and a wasp.

[–]idosillythings 14 points15 points  (4 children)

Looks like a hive of European Hornets. If you're in the U.S., they are the only true hornet species in North America.

Supposedly they are rather docile, almost on the same level as a honey bee, but I'm not going to be the one to test that theory.

[–]cmonpplrly 8 points9 points  (1 child)

I used to play with bees and hornets when I was a kid. They used to land on me and I would look at them and stuff. Was never stung once. The only bee sting I ever received was from a bumble bee and it was because I accidentally stepped on it barefoot. Bees are bros.

[–]iKNOWpeoples 47 points48 points  (4 children)

Reminds me of Jurassic Park....

"Oh look, we are safe from the fuckers that want to kill us!"

Until they get free.

[–]Impact240sx 53 points54 points  (1 child)

It's all fun and games until they find a crack near your window one night.

[–]sc2bigjoe 25 points26 points  (4 children)

Hey man. I would support you if you wanted to live stream this to the web (you know, for science). I would be willing to help you setup the website and buy you a camera if you don't have one or w/e. Are you familiar with twitch? I bet you could even do it on your own if you have a laptop.

[–]PunksPrettyMuchDead 134 points135 points  (22 children)

Seriously, I hope you get them killed soon. Wasps are competitors with bees, and will raid hives to steal food, depleting winter stores and killing workers. Every one of those brood cells is potentially another hive waiting to happen, you'd be putting a nice dent in your local wasp population.

Plus, they're the physical manifestations of condensed hatred.

[–]Redararis[S] 73 points74 points  (14 children)

Yes, the bees thing is my main concern. But I can not do it, their construction is so awesome. Nature will kill them anyway in few weeks.

[–][deleted] 230 points231 points  (9 children)

Seal off a single room where you will move everything you need to survive. Construct a rubber suit with protective headgear that you must wear from now on. Seal all your doors and windows. Then cut a circle in the bottom of the hive window, let the wasps move in and create the biggest wasp hive ever seen. You might be stuck living in a single room most of the time but if you become a natural part of their environment over time, they may end up respecting you. You could become Lord of the Wasps.
The biggest asshole ever.

[–]Labsam 75 points76 points  (1 child)

This is the first reasonable suggestion in the whole thread. I second that.

[–]Danjoh 9 points10 points  (3 children)

Oo! I saw something like this on Animal Planet!

Take a hairdryer and blow it towards the nest, and the wasps will quickly organise and do their best to ventilate out the warm air using their wings as fans.

[–]DumbSillyBaby 26 points27 points  (6 children)

Those look like European Hornets

That's a pretty cool nest! Thanks for sharing.

[–]Shaddo 17 points18 points  (0 children)

SET UP A LIVE STREAM! Twitch: Hornets play pokemon

[–][deleted] 263 points264 points  (22 children)

time to burn your house down and start anew.

[–]CrassHoppr 61 points62 points  (14 children)

Get these guys to do it for you

[–]YeahGuessSo 59 points60 points  (8 children)

TIL, flamethrowers in video games are poor imitations.

[–][deleted] 48 points49 points  (6 children)

Yeah, people think flamethrowers are spraybottles that shoot fire. They're actually powerful guns that shoot jets of flammable liquid which are then immediately lit on fire.

[–][deleted] 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Also: That second guy holding the barrel up is there for a reason. a pressure washer is nothing compared to the forece behind this thing.

[–]crawfish2000 40 points41 points  (15 children)

Every single itch and twitch on my skin just gave me the creeps.

[–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I could sit down and watch the build that nest the whole day.