For many, the sight of a wasp signals summer, leading to questions about their whereabouts when colder weather arrives. Unlike some other social insects that maintain year-round colonies, most wasps have an annual life cycle that sees the majority of the colony perish with the onset of winter. Understanding their seasonal patterns reveals a fascinating survival strategy centered around a single, resilient individual.
The End of the Colony
As autumn progresses and temperatures drop, the bustling activity of a wasp colony begins to wind down. Worker wasps, sterile females, have a short lifespan, lasting only a few weeks. These workers, along with male wasps (drones), die off with colder weather and dwindling food sources. The old queen also perishes, having completed her reproductive cycle. The colony’s purpose is fulfilled once new reproductive individuals have been produced.
How Queen Wasps Survive Winter
The survival of wasp species depends on newly fertilized queens. These queens enter a state of dormancy known as diapause, which is similar to hibernation. During diapause, their metabolic rate slows significantly, allowing them to conserve energy and survive for months without food.
Many seek sheltered locations to overwinter, such as under tree bark, in hollow logs, within rotting wood, or in crevices of buildings like attics, sheds, and wall cavities. These protected spots offer insulation from the cold and shield them from predators. Some species even produce a natural antifreeze-like substance, like glycerol, to help endure freezing temperatures. If a warm winter causes them to emerge too early, they may face starvation due to a lack of available food.
What Happens to the Nest
Wasp nests are seasonal structures and are never reused. These nests are abandoned as the colony dies off in the fall. The materials used for construction, primarily chewed wood pulp mixed with saliva, are susceptible to decay over time.
Old nests may harbor parasites or diseases from the previous colony, making them unsuitable for new inhabitants. The old nest is left to disintegrate due to weather or animal activity. While a new queen will not reuse an old nest, she might build a new one in the same general area if it offers suitable conditions.
The Start of a New Colony
As temperatures rise in spring, the overwintering queen emerges. She then begins the solitary task of finding a suitable new location to establish a colony. This new site is often a sheltered spot like eaves, attics, or even underground burrows. The queen constructs a new nest, chewing wood fibers and mixing them with saliva to form a paper-like material.
She lays her first eggs within this initial structure, and once these eggs hatch into larvae, she feeds them. When the first generation of worker wasps matures, they take over the responsibilities of foraging for food and expanding the nest, allowing the queen to focus solely on laying more eggs.