Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Wasps

Wasps
Wasps, Dolichovespula sppAdult worker wasps have the characteristic black and yellow patterning on the abdomen and are between 15-20 mm long. They have a black head and thorax. The fore and hind wings are held together by a row of minute hooks giving the appearance of only one wing per side of the wasp. The wings are heavily veined.

The wasps are colonial insects living in social groups. Each colony is established in the spring by an overwintering queen which makes a smaller starter nest from paper made by itself by mixing wood and saliva. The colony grows throughout the summer and the nest with it. Many thousand individuals are often to be found associated with each nestm with the workers feeding on nectar, sweet materials and at certain times insect larvae and other animal pieces.

The colony develops males towards the end of the summer to mate with presumptive queens which when mated, start a new colony the following year.

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