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Under a tree in an area often sunny, but not sunny enough for grass to grow, and also often humid, but not sufficiently so for moss to propagate, the two plants have left just enough of an ecological niche for a member of the animal kingdom.

nest identification

Do you recognize this nest? Are these ants? Are they wasps? Should I be wary (of carpenter ants, of a particularly angry type of wasps)?

Sam7919
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    Where was this picture taken, and when? What type of soil is it? Have you seen anything unusual around? There are many, many different kinds of ants, ground wasps, and other species that dig holes in the ground. Some are aggressive, others not. Until you see something going into the hole or coming out of it, I wouldn't worry about it. – MattDMo Sep 06 '22 at 18:34
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    In addition to MattDMo's comment, holes are often re-used, so the critter that made a hole may not be the current resident. If you're looking at a substantial nest of any social hymenoptera you're going to see the occupants coming and going regularly. Less so among solitary species (which are also not typically aggressive). – Bryan Krause Sep 06 '22 at 18:57
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    A neat trick I've seen is to push a little dirt over the hole and wait to see what pushes it clear again, that'd give you an answer. If you can set-up a camera to take time-lapse snaps of the hole, that would be even better than sitting staring at it for hours. – Jiminy Cricket. Sep 06 '22 at 19:07
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    @JiminyCricket. I might not suggest that for a yellowjacket nest, but in that case you're likely to see guards as well as foragers coming and going. – Bryan Krause Sep 06 '22 at 19:11
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    @BryanKrause - It's fine to test, just be ready to run far away and fast. How aggressive a wasp is (towards a disturbance of a nest) is proportional to the size of the nest. If it's a small nest, a wasp might only repair the hole. If it were a large nest, there would very likely be visible activity all day long. So the risk is low. – anongoodnurse Sep 06 '22 at 20:24

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