Wasp nests are familiar sights, often appearing as intricate structures attached to eaves, branches, or hidden in the ground. Their construction can seem complex, yet the materials used are often readily available in the natural environment. The varied appearance of these nests, from delicate paper creations to sturdy mud formations, sparks curiosity about their composition.
The Main Material
The primary building material for many common wasp nests, particularly those of social wasps, is wood fiber. Wasps collect this cellulose from various sources, including dead wood, fences, and even cardboard. They prefer weathered wood where the surface has softened and turned gray, making it easier to strip away. This material is then chewed into a pulp, forming the basis of their nests. The wood fiber, once mixed with saliva, resembles a type of papier-mâché, giving the nests their characteristic paper-like appearance.
How Nests Are Formed
Wasps transform collected wood fibers into a durable construction material. After scraping off bits of wood fiber with their strong jaws, a queen wasp mixes these fibers with her saliva. This mixture creates a soft, pliable pulp. The saliva contains proteins that act as a quick-drying, water-resistant adhesive, binding the wood fibers together, and strengthening the nest. As this pulp dries, it hardens into the sturdy, paper-like material that forms the nest.
The nest construction begins with a queen building a foundational stalk, then forming hexagonal cells. These hexagonal cells maximize space and material usage for raising young. As the colony grows, worker wasps take over the building process, continuously adding more hexagonal cells to accommodate new offspring. The outer layers of the nest shield the inner structure, while rigid internal cells provide support for developing larvae.
Different Wasp Nests
While many wasps construct nests from paper-like materials, other species utilize distinct substances. Mud daubers and potter wasps, for instance, primarily build their nests from mud or clay. Mud daubers gather mud, water, and their saliva to create a pliable material, shaping it into tubular or organ-pipe-like structures. These nests are often found on protected surfaces like walls, eaves, or under bridges.
Potter wasps also use mud and saliva, forming vase-like or jug-shaped nests, typically with a single cell. The color of these mud nests can vary depending on the type of soil available in their environment. Unlike social paper wasps, mud daubers and potter wasps are solitary insects, with each female building her own nest to house her offspring.