A ginormous wasp nest was discovered by a nine-year-old Nailsworth boy while in his attic on Saturday.
DIY enthusiast Milo Gerstheimer was getting ready to renovate the attic space for his new room when he stumbled upon a 70cm-wide dormant nest.
He cut it open to find three dead wasps and has decided to turn it into a science project at Minchinhampton Primary Academy.
“I thought it was alive so I just ran back down the ladder,” said Milo, who returned shortly afterwards to show his grandparents on Facetime.
“They thought it was going to be about as big as a tennis ball. Luckily it wasn’t active. I think it’s about two years old.
“It was behind a wall so we didn’t realize it was there,” he added.
George McGavin, BBC One Show presenter, author, and lecturer on all things creepy-crawly, said he thought the find was "very impressive."
It wasn’t the only nest he saw while measuring the attic, and Milo has since gone off the idea of going to sleep in there.
“I’m having second thoughts about making a renovation up there because if I went through the whole attic there’s probably going to be about 100 wasps nest.
“Just going in there I’ve seen five [nests] already in five minutes.
“I’ve seen dead ones, I’ve seen alive ones, and I don’t honestly want to have my bed up there anymore - I’ll just hear buzzing for the rest of my life.”
Milo’s discovery is one fifth of the size of the largest wasp nest ever recorded, which was found on a farm in New Zealand, 1963.
When whole, it measured 3.7 m long and approximately 5.5 m in circumference, but it was too heavy for the tree it grew in and fell, splitting in two.
Wasps build their nests using wood scrapings mashed up with saliva into a papier-mâché like substance.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here