Wasps in the house and garden are not really welcome, even if these pests are useful for our ecosystem. Building a wasp's nest shows real skill, even though it's only used for a year.
In a nutshell
- Nest only used for a year
- Time of nest building from April
- wintered queen starts building
- Duration of nest building until July/August
- Wasp nest is deserted in winter
Depending on the life cycle
Nest building in wasps is always dependent on their life cycle. A wasp colony is founded every year. A few things will be briefly explained about this. Except for the mated young queens, the entire wasp colony does not survive the winter. Only these queens of a wasp colony survive the winter in a form of rigidity with the help of a kind of antifreeze in their bodies. They crawl underground in mouse holes or rotten piles of wood, or under tree bark. With the first rays of sunshine, with temperatures around 15 degrees, usually at the beginning or end of April, the queen is brought back to life. The time can vary slightly. It always depends on the prevailing climate. First she goes in search of food and then she looks for a sheltered cavity to build her new wasp nest. Initially it resembles a mini cone, then a tennis ball until it reaches its final shape:
Wasps build on a wasp nest
- rarely builds a nest near the wintering site
- ideally dark cavities
- also hanging freely in hedges, trees, roof trusses
- in addition scraping of wood fibers from boards, trees and fences
- mixes them with saliva
- then formation of a maximum of 20 hexagonal honeycombs
- first laying of eggs in these so-called brood combs
- resulting in the exclusive development of sterile workers
- Workers responsible for further nest building
- continue raising the following offspring
- Queen now solely responsible for laying eggs
Notice: Scientific studies have shown that wasps use the earth's magnetic field as a guide when choosing a location.
constant growth
For a period of around four months, from spring to midsummer, i.e. July to August, the wasp nest is constantly growing until construction finally stops in early autumn. By this time, the wasps' nest had reached an amazing size. Over the summer it can house between 500 and 5000 workers and the queen. There are between 3500 and 15000 brood cells in a wasp nest. The size of the colony always depends on the population. In addition, the weather and the food supply also play a decisive role. When the weather is bad and there is little food, the wasp nest grows correspondingly more slowly, since there are fewer animals and therefore less space is required. In addition, the space available for nest building and the available workers are also important. A nest does not always have to have a grape-shaped appearance, but can
- be the size of a football or medicine ball,
- be elliptical or plate-shaped or
- 2 to 3 cm high and up to 3 m long.
Notice: A queen wasp can be identified by its body size. The body is strong and 20 mm long. In comparison, workers only reach a length of 16 mm.
Nest task in autumn
Wasps lay their last eggs in autumn. The larvae of the young queens, i.e. the fertile females, hatch from these eggs. After that, the still reigning queen lays eggs again. This only results in drones whose task is to mate with young queens from other wasp colonies. After mating has taken place, these then die, as do all the workers belonging to the wasp colony. Occasionally, some specimens may still be seen in October or November, but they then also die. The workers reach an age of between 18 and 22 days, while the old queen dies after a year. Only the mated young queens survive the winter.
Depending on the wasp species, the nests die off from the beginning of September to the end of October. They are empty and will not be occupied again by a wasp species. They usually decompose on their own over time.
Notice: Wasps are protected. Nests may only be removed if there is an immediate danger to humans. The animals may not be caught or killed. Violations will be punished with fines of between 5,000 and 65,000 euros.
frequently asked Questions
When can wasp nests be removed easily and safely?In general, nests may only be removed if they pose a danger to humans. However, removal can be done without hesitation in the fall. The nests are then abandoned. Removal is easy, but not essential as they tend to decompose themselves over the winter.
Who should be informed when a wasp nest is discovered?In such a case, a professional pest controller or the wasp emergency service should be consulted directly. These decide on the further career. Sometimes a resettlement of the people is possible. The fire brigade only works here in emergencies.
How to remove a wasp nest that has just started construction?The queen must have left the nest. The small "nest ball" can then be easily removed and the space rubbed with lemon oil. The ball and queen can also be resettled. The new location should be at least 5 km away from the old one.