The wonder of wasps
I had my eyes opened to the talent and tenacity of wasps when taken to see this abandoned nest.
Here we can see the internal egg chambers, some covered with silk by the larvae when they are preparing to pupate. And the paper layers of the exterior.
All wasp nests are rebuilt from scratch every season. When a queen wasp has found a suitable location to build her nest, she will begin to harvest wood which she mixes with her saliva to create paper.
She will build a small nest that resembles a golf ball, and around 10-20 egg chambers will be made inside.
The queen wasp will then lay eggs in these chambers and tend to them. Once these baby wasps hatch, the queen will no longer leave the nest. It will be these new worker wasp's job to provide food and material to build the wasp nest even larger, and from this point the queen wasp will become an egg production machine.
If memory serves, this was a good 30 to 40 cm in diameter. Seen in south-west Pennsylvania, USA.
© All rights reserved
The wonder of wasps
I had my eyes opened to the talent and tenacity of wasps when taken to see this abandoned nest.
Here we can see the internal egg chambers, some covered with silk by the larvae when they are preparing to pupate. And the paper layers of the exterior.
All wasp nests are rebuilt from scratch every season. When a queen wasp has found a suitable location to build her nest, she will begin to harvest wood which she mixes with her saliva to create paper.
She will build a small nest that resembles a golf ball, and around 10-20 egg chambers will be made inside.
The queen wasp will then lay eggs in these chambers and tend to them. Once these baby wasps hatch, the queen will no longer leave the nest. It will be these new worker wasp's job to provide food and material to build the wasp nest even larger, and from this point the queen wasp will become an egg production machine.
If memory serves, this was a good 30 to 40 cm in diameter. Seen in south-west Pennsylvania, USA.
© All rights reserved