2 - New cells being made with mashed fibers and saliva
3 - A caterpillar was caught and is being chewed to feed the larvae.
4 - Feeding the larvae
5 - Using the wings as a fan to cool down the larvae
6 - The wasp guarding her heirs.
Description
A young paper wasp queen (Polistes dominula is founding a new colony. The nest was made with wood fibers and saliva, and the eggs were laid and fertilized with sperm kept from last year. Now the wasp is feeding and taking care of her heirs. In some weeks, new females will emerge and the colony will expand. The timespan between the older and more recent photos is about one month
Info -- A young paper wasp queen (Polistes dominula is founding a new colony. The nest was made with wood fibers and saliva, and the eggs were laid and fertilized with sperm kept from last year. Now the wasp is feeding and taking care of her heirs. In some weeks, new females will emerge and the colony will expand. The timespan between the older and more recent photos is about one month
I thought of that. But then I realized that the nest is growing during all the time, as the newborn females also build new cells. I guess that the growth of the nest only stops at the end of the summer when the (lazy) males begin to emerge. Alvesgaspar (talk) 22:36, 11 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
