Wasps make up a large superfamily of insects that includes yellow jackets and hornets, but this article will be about the wasps. You see, unlike bees and ants, wasps are not very social insects. They live alone except when they mate, lay eggs, and raise their young. In this article, we’ll talk about what the life cycle of a wasp is — how baby wasps grow up to become adults.
What Is The Life Cycle Of A Wasp?
The life cycle of a wasp is similar to the life cycle of a bee. A female wasp lays eggs in a nest that she has built herself. The eggs hatch into larvae, which eat the food provided by their mother. After this stage, they become pupae and then emerge as adults.
The adult wasp will mate with several males, who die soon after mating. The female then finds a suitable place to build her nest and lays eggs in it. She will continue to lay eggs until she dies or runs out of food, or is killed by predators.
The larvae hatch from the eggs and eat the eggs and other larvae in their nest until they become pupae. They remain at this stage until they turn into adults and emerge from their cocoons as flying insects that are ready to mate and reproduce themselves.
The wasp life cycle
The queen emerges…
Fertile queen wasps will emerge from their winter hibernation to search for a suitable place to build a nest. The queen wasp lays her eggs in the ground or in wood, which become larvae. The larvae feed on the food brought back by the workers and grow into new worker wasps.
After they have completed their first moult, worker wasps begin foraging for food and building their nest. The nest grows as new cells are added to accommodate additional eggs laid by the queen.
The worker wasps also gather nectar, pollen and water to feed their larvae. They also defend against predators like ants, spiders and other predatory insects that might try to eat their larvae or steal their food stores.
The metamorphosis process
Wasps are a group of insects that are generally considered to be pests. They are in the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita.
The most familiar wasps belong to the family Vespidae, which includes common social wasps, yellow jackets, hornets and paper wasps. However, there are many other species of wasps in existence.
Wasps have a complete metamorphosis consisting of egg, larva, pupa and adult stages. Each individual wasp goes through the complete metamorphosis from an egg, larvae, and pupa to a full-grown wasp in the cell of the nest. Wasps have a long ovipositor which they use to lay their eggs inside other insects or animals where they live or die.
Most wasps are predators, with some being parasites while others feed on nectar or consume pollen and honeydew produced by sucking insects such as aphids or scale insects (which themselves feed on plants). Wasps do not chew their food but instead use their strong mandibles to crush it into smaller pieces before swallowing them.
Building the wasp’s nest
Wasps first need to find a location next. You can usually find a wasp nest in a shed or behind some cladding at your property.
They use this material to build their nests and create a robust and waterproof structure that is able to protect the wasps from predators.
The queen wasp lays fertilised eggs in the nest. The larvae that emerge from these eggs feed on their mother’s food which is stored in the form of honeydew secreted by aphids and other sap-sucking insects.
Once they have matured into adults, the worker wasps continue to provide food for the larvae by collecting nectar from flowers and decaying matter such as dead animals or faeces.
Breeding their young
The first workers hatch in about two weeks. At 2-3 days old, they are ready to begin work. They clean the cell, remove debris, feed the larvae and carry out other tasks. After several days they begin foraging for food. As other workers emerge, they take over these duties so that the queen can concentrate on laying more eggs.
The number of wasps in a colony increases rapidly as more workers are born and take over tasks from their mothers. There will be one queen wasp who lays all the eggs until she dies or is replaced by a new queen. This usually happens when there are thousands of wasps in the hive or after a few years when there are too many workers for her to manage efficiently.
The expansion of the wasp colony
Wasps are incredibly territorial, and the expansion of their colony will only happen when they have a large population. The wasps will be looking for a new home if their current one is destroyed or overcrowded. An excellent example of this is if you have been waging war against wasps in your backyard and destroying their nests, then they may try to expand their territory so that they can rebuild their nest.
Wasps can also expand their territory if there is an abundance of resources in their backyard or neighbourhood. If there are more flowers and pollen than the original nest can handle, then the queen will send out scouts to look for new areas where she can build her nest.
Another reason why wasps might want to expand their colony is that some of them may be sick or injured from previous battles with humans, dogs or cats and need somewhere safe to recover before joining back with the rest of the colony.
The decline of the wasp colony during Autumn
Autumn is the season when wasp colonies begin to decline. This doesn’t mean that all of them will die off completely, but it does mean that they’ll be less active and less likely to attack people.
A wasp’s life cycle is very much dictated by the seasons and the weather. In spring and summer, when there are plenty of insects for them to eat, wasp colonies can grow very quickly – sometimes doubling in size every few weeks. But in autumn, there aren’t so many insects around, so the queen has to start using her energy reserves just to keep her nest warm enough for her young grubs.
The queen herself will also be getting older (as queens do), and she won’t produce as many eggs as she did when she was younger or healthier. The result is that towards the end of autumn, many wasps will start dying off from lack of food or lack of warmth or both; at this time of year, there are plenty of other things for them to eat, such as rotting fruit on trees or dead animals on the ground, so they don’t need us quite so much anymore.
Winter – the end of the wasp colony?
Late Autumn/Winter is the time to have your wasp nest removed. The colony has died but there are still several wasps around, and they may become aggressive.
If you have a wasp nest in your roof or guttering, it will be best to get this taken care of in the winter months when the weather is cold, and the insects are inactive.
The wasp colony has died off, but some will still be inside the nest. They may not be aggressive, but they can still bite and sting if provoked, and their venom is still potent enough to cause allergic reactions in some people.
By removing the nest now, you will avoid any risk of them becoming active again later in spring and summer when there are more foragers looking for food sources such as nectar and pollen.
Eliminate Solutions wasp removal often receive calls from worried homeowners who have spotted wasps flying around their property during these times of the year as they think they have missed something or that they have missed their chance to remove them altogether. The reality is that you have nothing to worry about; there are always Eliminate professional pest control specialists present throughout the year.
Conclusion
Wasps have four stages in their life cycle: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.
Egg
The queen wasp lays her eggs in a cell that she has built. The eggs are very small, about the size of a grain of sand. The queen wasp will lay different types of eggs depending on the needs of the colony. For example, she will lay fertilized eggs that will develop into worker wasps, and unfertilized eggs that will develop into male wasps.
Larva
The eggs hatch into larvae. Larvae are worm-like creatures that feed on the food that the queen wasp provides. The larvae grow rapidly and molt their skin several times as they develop.
Pupa
After the larvae have reached their full size, they pupate. Pupae are inactive and do not eat. During this stage, the wasp’s body undergoes a major transformation as it develops into an adult.
Adult
After a few weeks, the pupa will emerge as an adult wasp. The adult wasp will leave the nest and begin to search for food and a mate.
The life cycle of a wasp can last anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on the species of wasp.
Here are some additional facts about the life cycle of wasps:
- The queen wasp is the only wasp that can lay eggs.
- Worker wasps are sterile females.
- Male wasps only exist to mate with the queen wasp.
- Wasps can sting, but they are not usually aggressive unless they feel threatened.
- Wasps are important pollinators and help to control insect populations.
If you are looking for Wasp Removal in Glenrothes and surrounding areas, get in touch with Eliminate Solutions today!
