How Heavy Are Wasps?
WouterDuring spring, a queen wasp builds a nest. She is the leader of the colony and has a pointed sting. Thousands of wasps live in a nest made of wood fibers. The nest can be very large. The queen wasp can live for up to 12 months.
Queens and worker wasps die as the weather becomes colder. Adult workers look for food. If there is food available, the nest can survive longer.
The wasps in a colony will migrate to a warmer climate. When the queen dies, it is not possible to re-start the nest. This may be an easy mistake to make.
A paper wasp nest is made up of chewed wood fibers, saliva, and mud. It looks like paper when it is dry. The nest grows as the queen’s brood grows.
European hornets are large wasps. They nest in hollow logs or in dark cavities in the woods. Their rust-colored head and antennae are striped with yellow and black. They can be quite territorial.
The Bald-faced Hornet is a large, dark-eyed wasp that can be mistaken for a yellow jacket. Its white markings on the front of the head, and its stout body are characteristics of this species. It is found in North America and is more closely related to the yellowjacket. It prefers to nest in horizontal branches, but it can also be found in eaves of buildings.
The males of these species have no stingers. The females lay eggs on paralyzed cicadas. The eggs hatch and develop into larvae. The larvae are fed by adult workers. The queen and adult workers die when the temperature falls through the winter.
