Enter the secret world of the wasps' nest
Most of us dislike wasps. The black and yellow fiends harass our picnics and our outdoor parties. They ability to inject a sting over and over again frightens us, and there's always the risk of a dangerous allergic reaction.
Despite our fears and our misconceptions, wasps make a positive contribution to our environment. They prey on other insects and are a natural form of pest control.
Many of us don't know very much about how wasps live. We know they live in colonies, and like bees they have a queen. But much of how this fascinating insect lives is mystery to us.
This lens gives you an insight in the life of the common wasp, and a glimpse into the secrets inside their nest.
Despite our fears and our misconceptions, wasps make a positive contribution to our environment. They prey on other insects and are a natural form of pest control.
Many of us don't know very much about how wasps live. We know they live in colonies, and like bees they have a queen. But much of how this fascinating insect lives is mystery to us.
This lens gives you an insight in the life of the common wasp, and a glimpse into the secrets inside their nest.
Insects books from Amazon
Wasps, and so much more
What is a wasp?
Wasps are insects. If you want to get technical, they're part of the hymenoptera family, which include bees and ants.The main features of wasps is that they have wings, stings, and they are predators. Some live in colonies and some are solitary. Some have the distinctive black and yellow markings that spell danger, and others don't.
Hornets are different from wasps, mainly because of their size.
Common wasps live in large colonies made of a thin, papery material. These colonies start small and grow during the spring and summer, and can comprise several thousand wasps at their peak.
In the spring a queen wasp will come out of hibernation and seek a dry spot to start building a nest.
The picture here shows the inside of a medium-sized wasps' nest, with the outer layer removed.
Life Cycle of a Wasp - Part 1
From egg to larvae
Wasps build a nest containing layers of hexagonal cells. They look very similar to a bees nest, but are made from a grey papery material rather than wax.This is formed from wood pulp, which is why you might sometimes see, or hear, a wasp stripping the surface from a wooden fence of bench.
The queen wasp lays a single, almost invisible egg inside each hexagonal cell. This is nurtured by the other wasps in the colony, and it grows to become a wasp larvae, swelling to fill the cell.
The picture shows a number of cells containing larvae at various stages of growth. Once the larvae reach a certain size their cell is papered over, and they being the process of transforming into an adult wasp.
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My Flickr Photos of a Wasps Nest
Pictures of the wasps nest I dismantled
Unfortunately this nest had to be destroyed because it was very near to my house. It was destroyed in June, before the colony had time to grow very large.
curated content from Flickr
Insect DVDs from Amazon
Take a look into their amazing world
Life Cycle of a Wasp - Part 2
Larvae to Wasp
Insects undergo a secret transformation. Butterflies, moths, ants, wasps - they begin life as a form of larvae that eventually cocoons itself away, out of sight. Invisible to the naked eye their bodies undergo a dramatic change and a few days later they emerge with legs, wings and bright colours.Wasps go through this process in the secrecy of hexagonal paper cells inside their nests. Once the transformation is complete the mature wasp begins to remove the paper covering from their cell.
This picture shows a collection of sealing cells, inside which the larvae are undergoing their change.
Monster Wasps Nest Discovered in UK
6ft long nest found in roof of Hampshire pub
Not surprisingly, the pub where this massive nest was discovered wants to keep its identity secret. After all, who would want to sit in their pub garden when there's half a million living nearby.
It was quite possible the biggest wasps nest ever found in Britain.
The giant nest was apparently destroyed by a professional exterminator. For more information on the huge hive see this news article.
It was quite possible the biggest wasps nest ever found in Britain.
The giant nest was apparently destroyed by a professional exterminator. For more information on the huge hive see this news article.
Useful Information about Wasps
These websites will tell you more about wasps and wasp nests
- The Honey Pot - wasp information
- Contains more pictures of large wasps nests, including one covering a whole wall inside the roof of a house.
- Wikipedia - wasp page
- Wikipedia is a great source of information about virtually everything.
- Common Wasp Information Page - from Tameside, UK
- Useful information about, err.. common wasps.
- Socials Wasps and their nests
- This is the site set up by the guy with the Wasp Nest Museum video on YouTube (see below).
It's packed with information and pictures.
The Wasp Nest Museum
Cool but Creepy
Would you like to have a room packed with wasp and hornet nests? This guy does!
curated content from YouTube
Can This Lens Be Improved?
Got a suggestion or comment? Post it now.
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Lemming13 Apr 13, 2012 @ 10:03 am | delete
- Fascinating, but I still hate wasps. I'm putting this one up for the Friday the 13th selection. Blessing it, but still - ew!
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vallain Feb 14, 2011 @ 7:46 pm | delete
- Quite interesting. Adding your own photos was a real plus for this lens.
Blessed by the Insect Sub-Topic Angel and featured on The Best Insect Webpages on Squidoo.
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Bill D.
Oct 29, 2009 @ 10:59 am | delete
- I have loved wasps all my life and also other insects too. If you want to know more about me, check out my website at http://www.billdentomology.com.
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Frankster Sep 27, 2009 @ 7:28 pm | delete
- Great info. Not something I'd ever thought about. Very interesting however. Bear hugs, Frankie
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DiscoverFunLearning
Aug 31, 2009 @ 9:09 pm | delete
- Thanks for this! I enjoyed this page while researching nests. We are studying nests (homes) next week so we will revisit to watch the videos.
now on to look for turtle nests/homes
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by orangeduvet
I live in Hampshire, UK and I'm a keen writer and photographer.
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