Most social wasps, like yellowjackets and hornets, do not survive the colder months. As temperatures drop and resources become scarce, the vast majority of a wasp colony perishes. Only a select few individuals, primarily new queens, endure to continue the species.
The Annual Life Cycle of Wasps
The annual cycle of social wasps begins in spring when a fertilized queen emerges from hibernation. She constructs a small paper nest from chewed wood fibers and saliva, then lays the first eggs. These eggs hatch into larvae, which the queen feeds until they pupate and emerge as sterile female worker wasps.
Once worker wasps mature, they take over nest expansion, foraging, and caring for larvae, allowing the queen to focus on egg-laying. Throughout summer, the colony grows rapidly, sometimes reaching thousands of individuals. As late summer transitions into autumn, the queen produces a final generation of fertile male and new queen wasps. After these reproductives mate and leave the nest, the original queen ceases egg production. The colony’s structure then breaks down, and worker wasps, male wasps, and the old queen gradually die off with colder weather and dwindling food supplies.
The Queen’s Survival Through Winter
Fertilized queen wasps are an exception, possessing adaptations to survive winter. After mating in late summer or early autumn, these new queens seek sheltered locations for hibernation. This process, known as diapause, involves a significant slowdown of their metabolism to conserve energy.
Queens often find refuge in secluded spots like under tree bark, in hollow logs, abandoned rodent burrows, or inside human structures such as attics and sheds. Some species produce a natural antifreeze-like substance, preventing ice crystal formation and allowing them to endure extremely cold temperatures. Despite these mechanisms, overwintering is perilous; many queens succumb to predation or perish if they emerge prematurely during warm winter spells due to lack of food. The surviving queens emerge in spring, ready to establish new colonies.
What Wasps Do in Autumn
As autumn progresses, wasps often exhibit behavioral changes, becoming more active and persistent around human environments. Natural food sources like nectar and insects become increasingly scarce. This scarcity compels worker wasps to seek alternative sustenance, leading them to fermenting fruits, sugary drinks, and human food waste.
The colony’s decline also plays a role in this shift. With the queen no longer laying eggs and larvae absent (which previously provided a sugary secretion to adult workers), workers lose their primary internal food source. This drives them to forage more widely for carbohydrates and sugars. Their increased presence and foraging efforts around human activities can lead to more frequent encounters, and they may appear more defensive as they compete for dwindling resources and protect their declining nest.