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I have found something scary on my attic (Bavaria, Germany - found in June):

enter image description here

Size: The small one is a bit bigger than a ping-pong ball. The big one is smaller than a soccer-ball... maybe the size of a small handball ball?

Is that a spiders nest, a wasp nest or something different?

I could not see any alive wasps or spiders ... and I didn't want to get too close to that thing.

I'd be very happy if anybody could give me more information about that thing. I'll probably get a bit closer tomorrow (when it's hopefully very bright ... )

My research

I looked up wasps nets and spiders nets. To be honest, this makes me feel pretty bad (especially the thousands of spiders ... less the wasps).

We do have wasps once in a while in the house and I haven't noticed spiders in the house at all so far. I do see some dead wasps on the picture. My hope is that this is a "dead" wasp nest.

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  • $\begingroup$ It looks like a wasp nest to me, but it is hard to see the texture of it in this photo (is it paper-like?) Needs better focus to be sure. Whatever it is, it looks old and abandoned and dusty. $\endgroup$
    – JimN
    Jun 24 at 11:29
  • $\begingroup$ You make me happy :-) I hope I find the courage to approach it tomorrow. Then I'll make a better photo :-) $\endgroup$
    – Martin Thoma
    Jun 24 at 11:40
  • $\begingroup$ It is probably a European Hornet nest but I'm not an expert nor an entomologist. $\endgroup$
    – ermanen
    Jun 28 at 12:01

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This looks pretty much like a paper nest of a Vespinae, the subfamiliy where wasps or hornets belong to: typical is the ball-like, gray construction with the entrance on the bottom (latter is not visible on the OP's photo) which is built from chewed wood fibers.

Here is a Vespula vulgaris queen during the construction of her paper nest (image source: Murmelade CC-BY-SA-4.0):

Vespula vulgaris paper nest

Wasps and hornets are both protected in Germany - in consequence, removing a nest is only allowed under certain circumstances (although I doubt that this law is ever executed). Still, wasps and hornets are beneficial insects that are usually relaxed, but always foraging for their colony (what makes them kind of stubborn once they have found a food source). The Süddeutsche Zeitung has just published some recommendations on living together with these insects recently.

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  • $\begingroup$ I've been a second time up there. It's definitely a wasp net, as there were several dead wasps around. I'll now wait until winter to be sure they are give e $\endgroup$
    – Martin Thoma
    Jul 22 at 15:30
  • $\begingroup$ Your answer would be improved by explicitly indicating why you believe the OP's nest belongs to a wasp. Right now you just speak authoritatively without providing any explicit evidence for your opinion. Answers should preferably be able to answer the question convincingly without the need to go to external sources. You should cite sources, but you should also summarize relevant portions of citations directly in your post so as to provide clear evidence for support. $\endgroup$
    – theforestecologist ♦
    Jul 22 at 20:15
  • $\begingroup$ Thank you for your comment, I added some more details... $\endgroup$
    – bathyscapher
    Jul 25 at 11:07
  • $\begingroup$ Very good. Thanks! $\endgroup$
    – theforestecologist ♦
    Jul 25 at 13:55

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