World of Wasps

To house the wasps that make up a colony, social wasps build large nests. They chew bits of wood and mix it with their saliva to create a paper-like material. The wasps use this material to construct nests in tree hollows, rock crevices, or even human-made structures, like garages. A wasp nest can be as big as a basketball!

Solitary wasps don’t construct paper nests. Instead, many solitary wasp species build nests in holes in the ground.

Social wasps build large nests. They nests are homes for all the wasps that make up a colony. The wasps chew bits of wood. They mix it with their spit. This creates a paper-like material. The wasps use it to build their nests. They make the nests in tree hollows or rock cracks. They even build nests in human-made structures, like garages. A wasp nest can be as big as a basketball!

Solitary wasps don’t build paper nests. Instead, many species build nests in holes in the ground.

Scientists are discovering that wasps have impressive smarts compared with other insects. Elizabeth Tibbetts is a biologist who studies the social behavior of wasps at the University of Michigan. In recent experiments, she found that paper wasps can recognize other wasps by their unique black-and-yellow face markings. Paper wasps will watch other wasps fighting each other as they form colonies and remember who defeated whom. They behave differently with other wasps depending on where those wasps fall in the ranking system.

Other studies have shown that wasps can remember where food sources are and travel miles to return to them!

Scientists are finding that wasps are smarter than most other insects. Elizabeth Tibbetts is a biologist. She studies how wasps behave in groups. She works at the University of Michigan. Recently, she found that paper wasps can recognize each other based on their unique black-and-yellow face markings. Paper wasps will watch other wasps fighting each other as they form colonies. They’ll remember who beat whom. They create a ranking system. The wasps behave differently with other wasps depending on where they rank.

Other studies have shown that wasps can remember where food sources are. They’ll travel miles to return to them!

To reproduce, female wasps lay eggs that hatch into larvae. Social wasps lay eggs in the tiny cells in their nests. Some species of solitary wasps, called parasitoid (PEHR-uh-suh-toid) wasps, lay eggs in a surprising place: on or inside the bodies of other insects!

Different parasitoid wasps use their insect hosts in different ways. For instance, the jewel wasp injects cockroaches with venom that leaves the roach unable to move. The wasp then drags the roach to its nest by its antennae and lays an egg on the roach’s body. When its baby hatches, the roach becomes its first meal!

Female wasps lay eggs to reproduce. The eggs hatch into larvae. Social wasps lay eggs in the tiny cells in their nests. Some species of solitary wasps, called parasitoid (PEHR-uh-suh-toid) wasps, lay eggs in a strange place. They lay them on or inside the bodies of other insects! 

Different parasitoid wasps use their insect hosts in different ways. For instance, the jewel wasp injects cockroaches with venom. That leaves the roach unable to move. The wasp then drags the roach to its nest by its antennae. It lays an egg on the roach’s body. The roach becomes the larvae’s first meal when it hatches.