Characteristics
The queen wasp
is larger than normal wasps
(about 20mm) and she hibernates over winter, in the spring she starts making a nest in which to start laying her eggs. She feeds the young grubs on insects she catches until they develop into worker wasps. Her workers are all sterile females, which will forage for over a mile in search of food. At the end of the year the adult worker wasps start to die off and the new queen wasps look for a warm place in which to go into hibernation for the winter, and emerge in the spring to start the process again, building completely brand new nests. One
nest may produce 30,000 wasps
in a year.
Diet
Wasps
are natural pest controllers and tend to eat other insects. However at their peak in the summer months the workers turn to the sweet food and they become a nuisance at BBQ’s, outdoor party’s and bins.
Habitat
Wasps
will generally build their nests in a safe area, this can be a loft or roof, wasp nests in your garden shed, inside an air brick vent or even wasp nests in the ground. Other Wasps
build their nests in bushes, trees, hedgerows. They can build their nests anywhere that they find suitable and where it is protected from the elements. The nest itself is built by using chewed wood and saliva to make a paper mulch material. The nest material is strong, lightweight and surprisingly waterproof, yet can just break apart in your hands.