Here's an interesting conundrum.

[conuly]

For the past two or three summers (not sure which), we've had a tiny insect problem on our front porch. On a specific spot on our front porch, in fact - right underneath the banister on the left of the door, immediately next to the support structure holding that banister up.

There isn't a hive directly above or beneath this spot.

Every day or so during the summer, we (or I, really, nobody else looks) will find a mound - sometimes a substantially sized mound - in that spot. The mound consists of lumps of dark red waxy stuff, lumps of bright yellow waxy stuff that smells vaguely like clover or dandelion, and quite a bit of yellow powdery stuff that might be pollen and doesn't smell like anything. It's not being built into a structure, it's just piled up. No tunnels, no rigidity, not even any distinction between "well, here is where we put this stuff, here is where we put that". It might also include dead grubs (always dead ones). Tiny black ants (smaller than the text on this page) busy themselves walking back and forth around the mound, neither adding to nor taking away from it (unless they're eating the dead grubs). There aren't very many ants, you'd see more if you dropped a little bit of sugar water on the ground and waited.

The mound doesn't grow during the day, I think. I've been checking. Whatever is building it is either doing it during the night, or during the very early morning.

Edit: And every time I see this mound, I sweep it away. Doesn't matter, it's always back within a week. Or a day, even.

Comments

hrmmm

[scottrossi.livejournal.com]

you should check the porch roof thingie above the "mound" because one of my friends had something similar to this in her garage and it turned out to be a beehive inside the structure and it took an exterminator to get it out because it was so big.

Re: hrmmm

[conuly]

Check porch roof... got it.

Re: hrmmm

[gingembre.livejournal.com]

But it's actually directly below the *bannister*...that is, even if it were coming from the roof, it would fall on the TOP rail, not under on the bottom one.

Re: hrmmm

[conuly]

Wait no. That doesn't make much sense. If stuff were falling out of the hive, it'd have to be falling down, swing *sideways* to avoid hitting the banister, then swinging in the other direction to get under the banister.

Re: hrmmm

[gingembre.livejournal.com]

Precisely.

Re: hrmmm

[usnbfs.livejournal.com]

intelligent falling!

Re: hrmmm

[scottrossi.livejournal.com]

oh god the bees are going to take over the world, starting with conuly! :D

Re: hrmmm

[scottrossi.livejournal.com]

d-oh! maybe its termites living in said bannister?? :)

Re: hrmmm

[conuly]

I thought about that, and looked them up, but the symptoms are nowhere near the same.

Re: hrmmm

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

I had a friend who's house was deemed unsafe because a gigantic honey bee hive was built in one of the walls and it started leaking honey.

Re: hrmmm

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

not to brag or anything....

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

These are the entries that I love most. the ones where people (and not just you) talk about the way things are. They remind me that life isn't all arguments, politics, and bad sex jokes.

[conuly]

If it turns out to be something dangerous, and my house is condemned, I'm moving in with you.

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

Um...

Okay. I'll make room. I don't have much, but okay.

Why me?

[conuly]

Because you're the one who suggested that MY HOUSE COULD DIE.

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

oh...

My condolences if it does. I suppose that if it really does and you really want to move to Michigan where all of your friends aren't then you'd be welcome. Lindsey would kill me of course, but after the funeral, I think that the two of you would discover that you got along well.

hrmmm

[scottrossi.livejournal.com]

you should check the porch roof thingie above the "mound" because one of my friends had something similar to this in her garage and it turned out to be a beehive inside the structure and it took an exterminator to get it out because it was so big.

Re: hrmmm

[conuly]

Check porch roof... got it.

Re: hrmmm

[gingembre.livejournal.com]

But it's actually directly below the *bannister*...that is, even if it were coming from the roof, it would fall on the TOP rail, not under on the bottom one.

Re: hrmmm

[conuly]

Wait no. That doesn't make much sense. If stuff were falling out of the hive, it'd have to be falling down, swing *sideways* to avoid hitting the banister, then swinging in the other direction to get under the banister.

Re: hrmmm

[gingembre.livejournal.com]

Precisely.

Re: hrmmm

[usnbfs.livejournal.com]

intelligent falling!

Re: hrmmm

[scottrossi.livejournal.com]

oh god the bees are going to take over the world, starting with conuly! :D

Re: hrmmm

[scottrossi.livejournal.com]

d-oh! maybe its termites living in said bannister?? :)

Re: hrmmm

[conuly]

I thought about that, and looked them up, but the symptoms are nowhere near the same.

Re: hrmmm

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

I had a friend who's house was deemed unsafe because a gigantic honey bee hive was built in one of the walls and it started leaking honey.

Re: hrmmm

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

not to brag or anything....

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

These are the entries that I love most. the ones where people (and not just you) talk about the way things are. They remind me that life isn't all arguments, politics, and bad sex jokes.

[conuly]

If it turns out to be something dangerous, and my house is condemned, I'm moving in with you.

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

Um...

Okay. I'll make room. I don't have much, but okay.

Why me?

[conuly]

Because you're the one who suggested that MY HOUSE COULD DIE.

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

oh...

My condolences if it does. I suppose that if it really does and you really want to move to Michigan where all of your friends aren't then you'd be welcome. Lindsey would kill me of course, but after the funeral, I think that the two of you would discover that you got along well.