The Ballyeglish Society

In this article, we take a look at one of the insects that can be found at Ballyeglish Old Graveyard. Below are photos of a comb belonging to a species of wasp that had lived for a time in an old tree stump at the site. Known as “paper wasps,” the common yellow jackets (vespula vulgaris/germanica) chew plant fibres to create a papery material which they use to construct these elaborate incubators for their young.

The Common wasp, vulgaris, is slightly smaller than germanica. Both will sting, but the German variety is said to be more aggressive. They can be told apart by the stripe on their “snout.” The photos below show the difference, with the Common wasp having a thicker black line down towards its “mouth.” There is also a difference in their markings as the next images below demonstrate. Looking at the torso markings might be easier than trying to get a scally at their faces, as they might not always appreciate you being just that close to them.

These wasps also build their nests in the ground. A member of The Ballyeglish Society found this out when he was stung on a jaw during work at the site. They use crevices in stonework and old animal burrows for shelter. In the OS memoirs of 1832, it was said in folklore that not a bird nor insect was to be found in Ballyeglish Old Graveyard. We can confirm that this is an old wives tale. The place is teeming with life as the birds**t on the monuments will unfortunately attest.

We have provided some short videos so that you can get a better look at the lives of these often overlooked members of the insect kingdom. The first is a film about the constructions made by yellowjackets. It gives us better insight into how they raise their young. It’s amazing to think that a wasp village, like the one shown next, was inside an old tree stump at Ballyeglish Old Graveyard, and all while unsuspecting visitors strolled innocently past. It’s easy to see how Hollywood gets its ideas for horror movies from the natural world. Think Aliens with Sigourney Weaver. The biomemetics within fiction.

We hope you were suitably impressed by that footage. Next up is some film of other removals of yellowjacket nests, also in the USA. Does anyone in Ireland even bother to remove the nests? Is it a case here of, “Ach, sure, they’re only wasps, what’s the problem, they have ta live too”… “Aye, OK, I know yiv bin stung half a dozen times on yer big scone. I hear yeh. Lucksay, tick this bit a potata and some vinegar and rub it round yer belly and you’ll be grand. Ma granny swears by it.”

In the following footage, the nests are under the ground and differ somewhat in shape to the nest we found in the stump hollow at Ballyeglish. We wonder just how many people walk past wasp nests, unaware of what lies beneath their feet. Noticing a large number of wasps appears to be an obvious sign of a nearby nest but, honestly, how many really give it any thought? This next video might change that.

Ballyeglish Old Graveyard is a comparatively small site, but has a lot of interesting aspects to it if we have the time or inclination to look. We hope that this article will perhaps help you to view it now through a slightly different lens. But watch out for those lads with the yellow jacket, and we don’t mean the Council… although… hmm.

Bígí linn