Any ideas?

[MickG]

Sat outside and noticed a small wasp type insect fly into a hole on the side of the bricks around my door
The holes are where it had wooden dowels in for screws
These holes are about 2" deep and the wasp was filling the hole with small segments of leaves
Over the next few days it has filled three of the holes
I have picked out a few leaves to see what is in there
Could it have laid an egg and the leaves are for cover and food when it hatches
Any experts out there who know about this as I have not seen this before
Mick
IMG]http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/MWGurmin/P1020092.jpg[/IMG]

 

[JonathanD]

It could be a few bee/wasp species. See if you can get a pic of the insect itself.

 

[Radix lecti]

Looks like you have masonry or mortar bees,some species of bees will drag bits of leaves into the holes to make their nests. As a bricklayer i have dealt with them in the past.Looks like your wall could do with repointing they only seem to choose soft mortar.
Here are a few links
http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/ind...ontrol-fact-sheets/mortar-bees-fact-sheet.htm

http://www.bumblebee.org/OTHERbees.htm

 

[MickG]

The holes they are using are only drill holes and to small for a nest
The wall has been striped of the spar as it was put on by cowboys and was hollow underneath
Waiting to get some prices for new rendering and pebble dashing where they use the mesh to bond it

 

[mattweasel]

I've got the same thing in my garden. I first saw them a couple of years ago, flying out of the brickwork then flying to a bush next door and returning to the hole over and over again.
There's another one this year doing the same thing. I think it is a solitary bee called a leafcutter. Hope this helps.
Matt

 

[HeltorChasca]

...
Waiting to get some prices for new rendering and pebble dashing where they use the mesh to bond it

In most of the South West pebble dashing is out dated and partly joked about (in many peoples' opinions). If the wall isn't part of some major structural use, why not leave the holes (or even make more of them) and encourage wildlife into your garden.

I even ask clients to let me leave large enough spaces in stone work that will house the beginings of an avian family.......hc

 

[MickG]

i dont know why anyone should joke about pebble dashing your property to prevent water damage or think pebble dashing is out dated
My property was renovated 30 years ago by a local council grant by the previous owner and the work was done by a cowboy who knocked 2 windows into the back of the property he made the holes so large he had to fill in with concrete blocks and covered the back with spar to hide the work
When I purchased the property the spar was so lose I had to remove it and the first few feet revealed the same stone work as the front of the property so i wanted to repoint it as it is the old morter and leave the stone work exposed
But when I removed the spar from the window area I found large amounts of blocks had been inserted to fill in
There is no way of just repointing now so the wall has to be recovered and in this area large amouns of houses are being covered with a new maerial with a fine mesh in between and then golden pea pebbles thrown on
Mick