Paper wasps, common across many regions, are social insects that construct distinctive open-faced paper nests. These insects form colonies that grow and thrive throughout the warmer months. Many wonder about their survival when temperatures drop. While many individuals within a paper wasp colony perish, the species itself endures through the colder season.
The Winter Fate of Paper Wasps
As autumn transitions into winter, most members of a paper wasp colony do not survive the colder temperatures. Worker wasps (sterile females) and male wasps (drones) typically succumb to the elements. They complete their life cycle by the end of the active season, lacking physiological adaptations to withstand prolonged cold. Their demise is a natural part of the annual cycle.
Only newly fertilized queens from the previous season survive the winter. These future foundresses represent the continuity of the species. The old colony and its nest are abandoned as the temperatures drop. This ensures new colonies can be established in the following spring.
How Queen Wasps Survive Winter
Newly fertilized paper wasp queens survive winter through specific behaviors and physiological changes. They seek sheltered locations to escape harsh weather. These overwintering sites can include protected crevices under tree bark, within hollow logs, in piles of leaf litter, or sometimes inside human structures like attics, wall voids, or sheds. The chosen spot provides insulation from cold and protection from predators.
Once settled, the queen enters diapause, a state of suspended development and metabolic slowdown. Her body processes significantly reduce, conserving energy reserves built up during the active season. She does not feed or move extensively. This reduced metabolic rate allows her to subsist on stored fat reserves until spring.
The Annual Colony Cycle
The annual life cycle of paper wasps begins in spring when the overwintering queen emerges from her dormant state. She seeks a suitable location, often in a protected overhang or eave, to begin constructing a new nest from chewed wood fibers mixed with saliva. The queen then lays her first batch of eggs, which will develop into the initial worker wasps of the new colony.
As these first worker wasps mature, they forage for food, expand the nest, and care for subsequent broods. The colony grows throughout the summer, with the queen primarily focused on laying eggs. By late summer or early autumn, the queen begins to produce reproductive individuals: new queens and males. These new queens and males leave the nest to mate.
Following mating, the newly fertilized queens disperse to find suitable overwintering sites, perpetuating the species’ cycle. The old nest is typically left behind and is not reused in subsequent years, marking the end of that colony’s life.