European paper wasp hunting on a red salvia. Erin Hauge
Recently, I was stung by a paper wasp in a dive-bombing ambush that hit the back of my hand as I was attempting to open a tree swallow nesting box during some citizen science field work. I hadn’t seen her and she dropped down from above – the whole thing was over in a nano-second, the wasp acted with lightning speed and I felt her hit my hand. After she stung me, she simply returned to the top of the post to continue guarding the nest and - big surprise - I left her alone. The experience gave me a new respect for wasps and their skill and adeptness at being formidable predators and protectors.
Wasp nest in the hollow pipe supporting a swallow box. These girls will fight for their nest! Erin Hauge
In a strange turn of timing, at about the same time, twenty miles away back in Coyote’s Garden, the golf-ball sized paper wasp nest that was quietly growing in an open and unused vent box was being destroyed by another predator.
I believe that the species of paper wasp at both locations is Polistes dominula or the European paper wasp. There is also a native paper wasp species, Polistes fuscatus or the Northern paper wasp. Both species, and many other species of wasps, are wrongly feared and maligned because they resemble the more aggressive yellow jackets or hornets.
Wikipedia
Paper wasps are generally not aggressive and will mind their own business unless directly provoked or unless they feel they need to protect their nest. The venom in a wasp’s painful sting has 2 purposes: to paralyze prey so it can be placed in nursery cells of the nest to provide food for the developing larvae; and as a convincing defense against any animal perceived as a danger to the nest.
That said, paper wasps are incredible hunters and provide vital ecosystem services by helping to manage garden pests like caterpillars and larvae and they help keep other insect populations in balance as well. While not primary pollinators, they can be considered incidental pollinators because they can drop and spread pollen as they move among flowers in search of prey. Wasps are considered beneficial insects.
The nest in Coyote’s Garden had started back in April or so with one queen and I watched it grow to include two, six and at its peak about twelve worker females. When the queen starts the nest she lays eggs that will become the subordinate females who will tend the nursery where the queen will continue to lay eggs. Only the queen lays eggs, and she’ll eat any eggs she finds that are not her own. The subordinate females will use submissive postures and gather food that is then regurgitated to the queen. There is also research that shows some wasp species have evolved to recognize faces of others they share the nest with.
I watched the members of this nest colony hunting among the vegetables and flowers many times, focused and efficient, patiently combing branches, leaves and flowers for prey and occasionally landing to rest and clean antennae, rasp some wood off a fence post for material to add to the nest, or drink at the bird bath. Most wasp species are prey-specific and these wasps seemed to hunt diligently in Coyote’s Garden for caterpillars and moth larvae. They kept strictly to themselves and while I took care to respect their nest and give them their space, we never had a negative encounter.
The paper wasp nest in Coyote’s Garden. A number of the colony members were out hunting at this time. Note the jumping spider - the wasps ignored her as these wasps seemed prey-specific mostly toward caterpillars and larvae. And note the grey-capped nursery cells - there are eggs transforming into wasp pupae in those. As I was taking these pictures the wasps were very active tending to the nursery cells until they saw me - at which time motion stopped and all eyes were on me. No further action needed - I stopped taking pictures. Erin Hauge
Paper wasp nests are founded by a single queen who is the only food provider until the subordinate females become adult and then they will take over the food foraging and the tending of the young in the nursery. The eggs the queen lays become larvae that will pupate and that’s where the metamorphosis will occur that transforms the larvae into adults. Fully formed adults will emerge from the nest cells when metamorphosis is complete.
Wasp with small, grey larva, the thing sticking up from the leaf just to the right of the wasp. Erin Hauge
All season, the queen will continue to lay eggs that will become female workers until towards the end of the season, usually late July, when the first queen will lay an egg that will become the new queen for the next season. The first queen will also lay eggs that will become the males who will mate with the new queen. The males will die after mating, and won’t survive the winter. All the wasps except for the new queen - males and females produced by the first queen - and the first queen herself - will die before winter. Only the new queen will emerge in the spring to begin building the new season’s nest.
The wasps in the swallow nest boxes weren't hostile but vigilant and protective. Further down the road on our citizen science day, a colleague opened a swallow box that alarmed a swarm of about 40 wasps, all going airborne on high alert, swirling around the nest looking for the threat. It’s understandable why people are fearful of wasps because I felt an animal-like instinct to run that had my feet in motion before I even thought about it. Once the wasps saw that the danger had left the area, they settled quickly and while we gave them a few minutes, we were able to return to the nest and retrieve a lost gauntlet glove without incident.
Some of our wasp safety observations of the day included:
Capping the pipes that support the swallow nest boxes to exclude wasps, preventing them from building nests there.
Wearing sturdy leather gloves when opening the boxes.
Being aware of how to move away from the box quickly through the thick brush that can surround the boxes, to prevent tripping and falling, thus delaying a retreat.
Moving mindfully through tall grass, watching for wasps as well as snakes. This was a new one for me as I learned that wasps can build nests around tall grasses, suspending the nest and using the grass as the support structure. It would be easy to walk right into a nest if one is not paying attention!
Wasp nest seen in the grass just off the road, about three feet off the ground. Erin Hauge
The advantage for wasps of tending a centralized nest where the entire colony resides is that it allows for greater efficiency in foraging and feeding benefits and, perhaps most importantly, in reproduction and tending of the young. The disadvantage - and it can be a big one - is that all investment in the survival of the colony is centralized in that nest. This means that predators have the ability to destroy the entire nest - all the season’s investment of energy and resources in the next generation - in one quick moment.
As for the predator that destroyed the wasp nest in Coyote’s Garden? I spent some time surveying the scene and found some sections of the nest, flat and empty. I could not imagine what could have simply destroyed the nest as it was about four feet off the ground in that small vent alcove with no perch place for a mammal or, so I thought, a bird. I found one dead wasp pupa, almost fully formed and ready to emerge, lying on the ground under the nest site. And I found….a Scrub jay feather!
A feather, a pupa and nest remnants - evidence of destruction for the wasps. Erin Hauge
Scrub jays are known to prey on paper wasp nests, and will actually capture and consume the wasps themselves and, if they can, fly away with the whole nest, wasps and all to be able to eat the soft pupae with cream filling of caterpillar and larvae carcasses! As if to confirm my suspicion, about an hour after I discovered the pillaged wasp nest a sleek adult Scrub jay flew in to get a drink and have a bath at one of the garden’s bird baths.
I had mixed feelings about the demise of the colony - the nest was right by a doorway, which meant that there was an increased chance that the wasps could be inadvertently disturbed by humans. But I watched these wasps work hard and industriously for several months, focused only on growing the nest and raising young to carry on for the needs of the colony. They would gather and sleep in their nest at night and wait for the sun to warm things up before flying out to begin to hunt. And when it was windy, they would mostly hunker in the nest until the wind died down - unless it lasted all day, in which case they’d have to venture out for food and risk being buffeted.
Wasps are valuable insects in any garden. The first thing to do if you see wasps hovering around your plants is to identify the species. Paper wasps prefer to mind their own business and when hunting, are fairly single-minded. And while care should be taken to keep wasps from nesting in eaves, windowsills and near doorways, seeing them hunting in your garden should give you a sense of satisfaction, as wasps are part of a healthy ecosystem and they provide free, unlimited pest management services.
Pest management services, on the job! Erin Hauge
Erin Hauge is an Ecologist, Certified California naturalist and wildlife tracker. She is currently earning an A.S. in Biology and writes periodic nature and wildlife blogs.
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