When Does Wasps Hibernate?
WouterDuring the winter, queen wasps sleep. They sleep in their nests, which may be cavities in walls or buildings, tree cavities, or in small spaces. They also sleep in leaf litter and old logs.
If they cannot find a warm place to hibernate, they go into torpor. This sleep mode lasts for a couple of days and they will be unable to fly. When they awaken, they build a new nest. They will then lay their eggs.
They then need to produce enough workers to take over the responsibilities of feeding and building the nest. They also need to find some food for the workers. They can use the nectar from flowers, or supplement with tree sap or windfall fruit.
The old queen dies during the fall, and the male workers leave their nest. The new queen emerges in the spring to build a new nest. The last of the eggs to hatch will become the male drones.
They are good for the environment because they sleep away the winter, but if you live in an area that receives lots of snow, you could be waking up to a lot of wasps. They can be quite a nuisance in the spring, when they begin to build their colonies. They can also be a problem when they are foraging for sugary foods in the late summer.
The best way to prevent wasps is to make sure they don’t get into your home in the first place. If you can’t control them, consider hiring a professional pest control service to get rid of them.
