How Fast Do Wasps Make Nests?
WouterWhether it’s paper or wood, wasps make nests that last about a year. They are a social insect that will build a nest almost anywhere, even inside a house. These nests can reach up to 30 centimeters in width. They’re built to keep the queen and her offspring safe. If you see more than a handful, you should investigate.
The queen wasp spends the last quarter of the year hibernating in a nest. During this time, she gathers sperm to fertilize eggs. These eggs hatch into young female wasps, who then take over the nest.
When the queen wasp is awakened from hibernation, she flies to a new location. She then begins laying eggs in a new nest cell. She adds further layers of paper to keep the cells protected. The queen continues to lay eggs in the nest, and eventually the nest grows to a size that can house hundreds of adult wasps.
Once the nest has reached its size, the worker wasps start to die. The remaining adults die of starvation. After winter, the new queens and young queens will begin laying eggs. This cycle repeats throughout the summer. The nest can reach a size of 3,000 to 5,000 individuals. During the peak of summer, the nest will contain up to 10,000 wasps.
When the weather becomes cooler in the fall, the wasp colonies go back into hibernation. The queen and the new queens will re-emerge the following spring.
