Surprises in the Garden

So, I went out today to weed the overgrown beds and to replant the cucumbers since its been 3 weeks and they are still no shows. I pulled out dozens upon dozens of day lilies the are infesting the raised beds. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my carrots were actually coming up, slowly... so slowly.

Afterwards, I made my way over to the cucumber mound to turn over the soil and replant my little cucumber seeds. I used my little trowel and turned over a little dirt. A few bugs crawled out. Nothing odd about that. So I turned over more and more, and was quick to realize that the insects emerging were not only numerous, but winged. They were all black, a bit of white, and they resembled wasps.

Mr. Selinger thinks they might be black hornets, a very aggressive species, so I left gardening for the day and will go back tomorrow. However, I have looked up ground-nesting species, and it seems to me that they may be the juveniles of a bee colony. From he sites I've looked at, it seems like a single female has started a colony in the mound and I just dug up her babies! I can't be certain, but I'll defiantly ask around to see if anyone else has a better clue!

So, for the time being, how about we admire the fruit of my labor?



(Dear Santa, I want a better camera!)