Did you know that the paper wasp nest is a marvel of engineering, design, and innovation? Let’s learn all about how paper wasps make their nests and why these nests are so special.
Around 700 species of paper wasps exist throughout the world, twenty-two of which are found in North America alone.
A common summer sight, the paper wasp belongs to the order Hymenoptera, family Vespidae, sub-family Polistinae, and genus Polistes.
Polistes are one of the most common types of paper wasps found in America. They are named after their ability to create nests with a substance that is essentially paper which they create by mixing wood fiber with their own saliva.
One can identify them by their long bodies that measure up to 0.7-1.0 inches. They also have yellow markings on them.
Spot a few of them hovering nearby? You might be neighbors to a paper wasp colony.
Architectural icons and the skilled engineers of the animal kingdom, let’s find out how paper wasps build intricate nests with the help of nothing but their saliva and smarts!
What Do Paper Wasp Nests Look Like?
There are various types of wasps that exhibit the same behavior of making paper nests, including Yellow jackets, paper wasps, and bald-faced hornets.
What sets each of them apart is the size, shape, and location of the nests. A surefire way to identify paper wasp nests is by observing their structure.
You may have noticed an umbrella-shaped nest affixed to the ceiling of your outdoor porch.
At other times you may have caught sight of one dangling on tree limbs, chimneys, porch ceilings, and support beams.
These nests are commonly found in attics, garages, barns, or other secluded areas.
The hexagonal-formed chambers of the paper wasp nests are the most efficient use of space when packing multiple chambers in a single nest.
It turns out that hexagons use the least amount of space and can hold the maximum amount of weight!
Not only have architects marveled at their engineering ingenuity, but they have also used designs similar to that of wasps nests to create buildings.
How Do They Make Their Nests?
The female wasp scrapes off wood fiber from fences, logs, and cardboard with the help of her mandibles.
She then uses both saliva and water to weaken these fibers. With a mouthful of pulp and her mind set on the construction of her nest, she starts the wet cellulose on a suitable surface.
The pulp dries up to form a strong buttress that becomes the foundation for the entire nest.
It is interesting to note that the wasp saliva has chemicals that make the nest waterproof. In places where the weather is rainier, the female wasp adds extra saliva while making her nest.
She lays her progeny in hexagonal-shaped cells in the nest. Every cell contains a single egg laid by the queen. Each egg then hatches into a larva.
Where Do They Hang Their Nests?
The paper wasp nest is distinctly umbrella-shaped, quite different from other wasps.
One can find their nests suspended from the ceiling of their outdoor porches, chimneys, slender yet sturdy tree branches, and support beams present in attics, barns, garages, and other covered areas.
These wasps almost always find a protected area to hang their nests.
Why Their Nests Are Fluorescent
These beneficial insects are known for hexagonal-shaped off-white paper nests, but did you know that these same nests emit an eerie glow at night?
The finely woven silky paper wasp strands contain fluorescent proteins visible only at night or under black light.
The purpose of this fluorescence is still unclear, but scientific speculation tells us that the alien-green hues might be helpful in guiding the wasps home.
Another possibility is that the fluorescence helps them to differentiate between nests.
One more speculation is that the fluorescence protects the nest from overexposure to the harmful rays of the sun.
How Humans Learnt How To Make Paper From Them
French scientist René-Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur’s wanderings in nature gave way to the scientific observation of wasp-made paper nests and, as a result, paper.
René Réaumur’s observation came at a time when there was a dire need for a replacement paper fiber.
This idea of paper-making took root in a German clergyman – Jacob Schaffer, who wrote a detailed treatise on using alternate fibers for this purpose.
Finally, in the 1850s, paper-making gained momentum as rag slurries were disposed of. How was it that a wasp with the brain size of two sand grains mastered the art of creating durable paper while humans slaved away thousands of years to duplicate the same?
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take a paper wasp to build a nest?
It takes around 4-6 months to complete a nest. The nest stays under construction throughout spring and summer.
The sturdy and hexagonal-built paper wasp nests are made during early springtime. Over the course of winter, these nests wither away. The queen chooses a nesting site and constructs yet another nest the next spring.
How does a paper wasp nest start
Using her mandible, the queen wasp scrapes off wood fibers and uses both saliva and water to deposit the pulpy substance on a strong surface.
The pulp dries off and soon becomes sturdy. This then acts as a foundation for the nest.
As she lays eggs, more and more wasps emerge and become workers who keep on building the nest until the colony has as many as 200 wasps in it.
Should I knock down a paper wasp nest?
No, you should not try knocking down a paper wasp nest or paper wasp colonies, especially during the daytime when they are very active.
Instead of fiddling with an active wasp nest, you can try removing it during the winter or during the nighttime.
What is the lifespan of a paper wasp?
The lifecycle of a specific paper wasp species varies. But generally, worker wasps or adult paper wasps will live for 12-22 days, while the queen wasp will be able to live for a year.
In late summer, female offspring of the queen mate and look for over-wintering sites. The rest of the colony fails to survive winter.
Wrap Up
Paper wasps live in colonies that they keep defending throughout their lifetime.
These social wasps are the masterful creators of umbrella-shaped paper nests and are the geniuses behind the efficient use of space.
Take a page out of their book and revel in the beauty of a functional hierarchy, diligence, hard work, and well-deserved creativity! Leave the snacking on insect pests, though!
Thank you for reading!
 |
 |
| Polistes Paper Wasp | European Paper Wasp |
18 Comments. Leave new
These are either P. dorsalis or more likely P. exclamans
The colony is breaking down, and the wasps in your photo are males that are still hanging around. Chances are the foundress queen as died and most of the workers bailed already.
Yes the one on the left is P. fuscatus the one on the right is the invasive P. dominula
Could be P. dorsalis or P. bellicosus
I am now almost 68 years old. All of my life I have know red wasps to be aggressive. There have been times when I would not even know that there was a wasp nest near until i received a sting. I grew up in Houston, Texas where I lived from my birth in Dec. 1947 until Oct. 1993. Then with my family, wife and children, moved to East Texas, just north west of Tyler, Texas in 1976. I have been stung numerous times by theses vicious creatures. Some have had nest under the eaves of my house, which ever house that might be at the time and just walking along that side of the house would be threat enough to those wasps to come after me. Therefore I keep several cans of wasp/hornet spray in my house and tool shed all the time so no matter which place I am in, or near, i will have easy access with a weapon to “return fire” and rid the threat. I am not allergic but the sting is still very painful and therefore I consider them to be an enemy and “shoot to kill. 🙂 I have always known them to be aggressive. In face, I have found them not only nesting under the roof of my front porch but even making nests under my porch swing that hangs on my front porch if I have been gone from several weeks. For that reason, when I have been gone for several weeks, before sitting on my porch swing, I bump it with a long pole and if these little monsters start flying out from under the swing, I go into action with my spray. I shoot to kill! I have grand children who, when they come to visit, like to sit on that swing. I am not about to let those wasps take over my area and put my family members at any sort of risk. I have ALWAYS found red wasps to be aggressive. Thanks for reading my comment. The reason I found YOUR article was because I was curious to find out if there was any good thing that red wasps do.
This is actually a male P. major major. Orange antennal tips won’t occur in P. fuscatus or in the Golden Paper Wasp, P. aurifer.
Thanks for the correction.
It isn’t Polistes. Looks a lot like Vespa bicolor, but it seems not likely in Spain.
Thanks for the correction Cesar.
This is a member of Vespinae, not Polistinae, as shown by the shape of the metasoma (polistines have a more slender, elongate waist than vespines).
Thanks for the correction.
I photographed a similar wasp at Mijas, Andalucia, Spain on 22 Dec 2018.
Though we still have not identified the species, we now know that this is one of the social Wasps in the subfamily Vespinae, the Hornets and Yellowjackets.
The wasp is in fact Vespa bicolor, and I’m considering the possibility of publishing a note on the find in an entomological paper. I have two questions for “Perry”:
– What’s the town where he took the photograph? (the map is totally wrong, with the “A” arrow entirely outside the boundaries of the province where the wasp was found.
– Could I use one of his two photographs to illustrate my paper?
Thanks,
“Discoelius”.
The wasp is in fact Vespa bicolor, and I’m considering the possibility of publishing a note on the find in an entomological paper. I have two questions for “Perry”:
– What’s the town where he took the photograph? (the map is totally wrong, with the “A” arrow entirely outside the boundaries of the province where the wasp was found.
– Could I use one of his two photographs to illustrate my paper?
Thanks,
“Discoelius”.
Hi.
Perry’s wasp is in fact Vespa bicolor, and I’m considering the possibility of publishing a note on the find in an entomological journal, along with other finds of the same species. I have three questions for “Perry”:
(La avispa sí que es Vespa bicolor, y estoy pensando en publicar una nota sobre el hallazgo en una revista entomológica, junto con otras citas de la misma especie. Tengo tres preguntas para “Perry”…)
– What’s the town where he took the photograph? (I can’t guess from the map, which is totally wrong, with the “A” arrow entirely outside the boundaries of the province where the wasp was found).
(¿En qué población se tomó la foto? [No se puede deducir del mapa.])
– Could I use one of his two photographs to illustrate my paper, and if so by what name would he like to be cited as the photograph’s author? “Perry” would do, but his real name would be better.
(¿Podría usar una de las dos fotos para ilustrar mi artículo? En caso afirmativo, puedo citar el autor de la foto como “Perry”, pero sería preferible el nombre real.)
If he wouldn’t like to give his real name online, can Bugman pass my email address to “Perry” so that he could, if he so chose, communicate with me directly?
Thanks.
Thanks for this confirmation.
We will attempt to pass your comment on to Perry.
What’s that Bug frequently provides images for scientific papers. Our submission form includes the statement “By submitting an identification request and/or photo(s), you give WhatsThatBug.com permission to use your words and image(s) on their website and other WhatsThatBug.com publications.” We will email the higher resolution images, and unless Perry comments otherwise, the image should be credited to Perry as the photographer, and courtesy of http://www.whatsthatbug.com
Hi.
Perry’s wasp is in fact Vespa bicolor, and I’m considering the possibility of publishing a note on the find in an entomological journal, along with other finds of the same species. I have three questions for “Perry”:
(La avispa sí que es Vespa bicolor, y estoy pensando en publicar una nota sobre el hallazgo en una revista entomológica, junto con otras citas de la misma especie. Tengo tres preguntas para “Perry”…)
– What’s the town where he took the photograph? (I can’t guess from the map, which is totally wrong, with the “A” arrow entirely outside the boundaries of the province where the wasp was found).
(¿En qué población se tomó la foto? [No se puede deducir del mapa.])
– Could I use one of his two photographs to illustrate my paper, and if so by what name would he like to be cited as the photograph’s author? “Perry” would do, but his real name would be better.
(¿Podría usar una de las dos fotos para ilustrar mi artículo? En caso afirmativo, puedo citar el autor de la foto como “Perry”, pero sería preferible el nombre real.)
If he wouldn’t like to give his real name online, can Bugman pass my email address to “Perry” so that he could, if he so chose, communicate with me directly?
Thanks.