Can Wasps Survive Without Queen Wasps?

Whether you want to kill a wasp queen or want to keep it alive, you have to be sure to do it at the right time. It is possible to kill a queen in early spring, but you might do more harm than good. The queen is responsible for the growth of the nest, so killing her early could result in a disastrous colony.

A queen wasp has a triangle-shaped head with a sharp pointy sting. The queen wasp is skilful at building nests. She makes them out of chewed wood pulp and saliva. These nests are small cavities found in trees or in the roof spaces of sheds.

Wasps will have multiple queens in their nests. Some will produce drones, which carry on the species. Others will have only one queen. Typically, a queen will live up to a year before dying.

A queen wasp begins building a nest during late spring or early summer. She lays eggs in the cells of the nest and the young larvae grow into female wasps. These young larvae will help build a nest for the new queen.

The queen wasp must feed the larvae to survive. The larvae will only eat rotted fruit and protein-rich insects. This means that when autumn arrives, the food source for the nest will decline. If food is scarce, the queen will starve to death.

A worker wasp will feed the larvae and communicate with the queen. The adult worker wasps will also help build the nest and collect food.