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A huge wasp nest found in Waitākere Ranges Regional Park is believed to have been expanding for about two years.
The huge nest collapsed after being hit by a storm and is now about half its original size.
Photo: Auckland City Hall / Jay Farnworth
The nest, originally the size of a two-person tent, was discovered in the Karekare beach area of the regional park.
Perched high up in a tree, the nest is built from a collection of sticks, bark, and leaves.
Auckland City Council said it would have been home to tens of thousands of wasps.
The nest is believed to have been expanding for up to two years to its final size of approximately 1m x 2m x 2.5m.
Had it not collapsed after being hit by a storm, the council would have brought in a specialist to monitor it, said Auckland Council Senior Ecological Advisor Sarah Gibbs.
Not only does the common wasp have a painful sting, it is also a voracious hunter and gatherer, feeding on many native chicks and invertebrates.
“It’s a good number of wasps that feed on insects in the local area,” Gibbs said. For the first time.
“A wasp nest that size would have thousands of wasps in it, and while one wasp is a problem if you have an anaphylactic reaction, so many wasps are a problem for anyone if you come across a nest.”
The nest is unlikely to be repopulated, as the queens will have already moved to settle elsewhere, he said.
Most wasp nests die in late fall after the queens and drones have produced, but Gibbs says a nest this size would have been large enough to survive a winter.
Queens in a hibernating nest would establish multiple satellite nests in spring, allowing wasps to quickly repopulate the area as the weather warmed.
