Polistes-dominula

Just went out to get more wood for my lazy Sunday next to the fireplace and saw something unusual under one of the big pine trees.

Further inspection identified it as a huge paper wasp (Polistes-dominula) nest that got blown out of the tree. I find them around the property all the time in summer and quickly remove them, but I’ve never seen one this enormous. It’s like a super luxury mega condo for wasps!!! Or it was…

Apparently, paper wasps build their nests by gathering fibers from dead wood and plant stems, which they mix with saliva. This results in a magical papery material.

Their diet is diverse which gives them a distinct survival advantage. I can attest to that with the numbers of them we have in summer. And I can also promise that their sting is not something you quickly forget!

The colonies are established by females that have left their natal combs to mate and find new settlements. The dominant females are the principal egg layers. If the queen is removed from the nest for whatever reason the second-most dominant female takes the role of the previous queen.

Males are produced later, with the colony finally dispersing in late summer. Individuals frequently cluster in groups to overwinter, but hibernation does not usually take place on former nest sites (lucky for me).

Just thought I’d share this ‘find’ today, as I think the pattern that results is beautiful.