Some offices acquire a coffee machine. Eilish Rothney’s acquired a civilization.
A nature-reserve manager in Norfolk discovered that wasps had begun building a nest inside her converted shipping-container office. She considered removing it, then wondered whether removal was actually necessary.
Two months later, the nest is more than a meter tall and has annexed part of a bookshelf. She now works beside it, keeps a window open for the colony’s commuting traffic, and says the low hum of thousands of wings has become strangely calming.
Wasps, it turns out, are pest controllers, pollinators, paper manufacturers, and—given sufficient diplomacy—surprisingly quiet coworkers.
The open-plan office may finally have found its purpose.
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