How Quickly Can Wasps Build a Nest?
WouterDuring the early summer, wasps build their nests. They choose a place that is quiet, protected and warm. These nests vary in size and shape. Typically, they are made of paper pulp. They may be built inside a house or garage, on a wall, in a shed or in the eaves of a building.
When a queen wasp arrives from hibernation, she looks for a warm, dry place to build a nest. The queen then scrapes up the wood fiber with her jaws. She mixes the fiber with saliva, making it malleable pulp. After the nest is formed, she begins to lay eggs. This process takes about three quarters of a year.
After the nest is built, the queen will begin to search for a food source for her larvae. She then prepares food for her young. When the larvae become adults, they will erupt from their cocoons. The larvae are usually born in the spring, and they will become social wasps when they reach maturity. These wasps prefer to nest in rock crevices, hollow trees or manmade structures.
During the summer, wasps build their nests high in the tree canopy. They may also build burrows into the ground. These nests are often made from raw wood or paper pulp. They are also sometimes made from mud to strengthen the structure.
The nest will grow bigger as the worker wasps mature. The nest may grow to be as large as a basketball. At their peak, they can contain as many as 10,000 wasps.
