The question of what wasps eat in the winter is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of their life cycle, as the social wasps most people encounter (such as yellow jackets and hornets) have annual colonies. Their diet during the active season is dual-purposed, consisting of protein for developing larvae and sugary substances like nectar and fruit for adult workers. When temperatures begin to drop, the vast majority of the colony faces a predictable and complete end to their lives.
The Seasonal Fate of the Wasp Colony
The large, visible wasp nests that reach their peak population in late summer are not designed to survive the cold months. As autumn arrives, the colony’s productivity shifts from producing sterile female workers to raising new reproductive individuals: males and next year’s queens. The newly developed queens mate with the males, securing the genetic future of the species before the weather turns cold.
Once the temperature consistently falls below freezing, all the remaining worker wasps and the males die off. This mortality is due to their inability to forage for food and the collapse of the colony structure, which can no longer regulate nest temperature. Unlike honey bees, social wasps do not store large amounts of food to sustain the entire colony over winter. The nest itself, whether underground or aerial, is then abandoned and will not be reused in the following season.
The Queen’s Hibernation Diet Strategy
The only wasps that survive the winter are the newly fertilized queens, and their survival mechanism involves not eating at all. These queens enter a dormant state known as diapause, which is a physiological process different from true hibernation, allowing the insect to conserve energy for many months.
To prepare for this long fast, the young queens spend the late summer and fall aggressively consuming high-carbohydrate foods. This pre-diapause feeding is focused on accumulating large internal fat reserves, which serve as the queen’s sole fuel source for survival during diapause.
The fertilized queens seek out sheltered spots to enter this state of suspended animation, typically under tree bark, in hollow logs, or within crevices in structures like attics and wall voids. They remain motionless in these protected microclimates until the spring thaw. The success of the colony the following year is directly linked to the amount of fat the queen managed to store before entering diapause, as this determines her survival and readiness to found a new nest.
Early Spring Feeding and Colony Establishment
When warmer spring temperatures signal the end of diapause, the surviving queen emerges with a singular focus: acquiring immediate energy to begin her work. Her first food sources are entirely high-sugar liquids necessary to fuel her intense activity. She seeks out early sources of carbohydrates, such as tree sap flowing from damaged bark or the nectar of early-blooming flowers.
This initial, post-winter diet is a pure energy source required for finding a suitable nesting site, collecting wood fibers, and constructing the first small batch of brood cells. Once the queen lays her first set of eggs and the larvae hatch, her diet begins to shift. She then starts hunting small insects and spiders, which provide the protein necessary to feed her carnivorous offspring. The adult queen continues to rely primarily on sugars, often consuming a nutritional syrup produced by her own larvae, until the first generation of worker wasps emerges to take over foraging duties.