Name: Terry Prouty
E-mail address: hornetboy1970@yahoo.com
Homepage: http://www.angelfire.com/ok3/vespids/intro.html
City, state, country: Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
Biography: I am an expert on social wasps (as a hobby). I have an intense passion for the genus Dolichovespula (generally aerial-nesting yellowjackets). I specialize in the bald-faced "hornet" (D. maculata). However... I also love Polistes (common paper wasps), Vespa (true hornets), and Vespula (generally subterranean-nesting yellowjackets). I think their beautiful nests are masterpieces of nature! I love collecting abandoned GIANT nests for my collection (The bigger the better!). I usually purchase the nests online. I am always looking for more impressive nests to add to my collection. Please let me know if you have access to any. If you don't currently know where any nests are, then please keep me in mind for the future from now on (Thanks!).
Some of the showpieces in my extensive nest collection include a huge D. maculata nest which is 3 feet (36 inches) tall, an enormous P. annularis (red wasp) nest from east Texas which is the size of a dinner plate (12 inches in diameter), a large Brachygastra mellifica (Mexican honey wasp) nest from south Texas near the Mexican border, and a giant overwintered, 2-year perennial V. squamosa (southern yellowjacket) nest from Alabama which was discovered in an atypical aerial situation attached to a 2-story home. I wouldn't have the perennial yellowjacket nest in the first place if it wasn't for the kindness of Bob Jacobson (The scientist who described V. flavopilosa). Of course, I have many other exceptional nests in my collection. I often refer to my apartment as a "museum of natural history"! LOL!!!
For more information on my giant nests, please go HERE
I have my own website which educates people on the beneficial aspects of yellowjackets, hornets, and paper wasps. The website needs to be updated although it has LOTS of valuable information and pictures (I haven't worked on it in ages!). The link for it is listed above (under "Homepage").
Also, I enjoy taking care of my pet bullsnake, giant wolf spider, and a thriving colony of giant South American cockroaches.