28 Nebraskaland • July 2022
certainly a female social wasp defending her colony. To be
fair, protecting one's family is something we can all relate to.
It's just that it hurts so much when paper wasps, hornets and
yellowjackets sting us — easy to see why they're so vilifi ed.
On the fl ip side, those species are often used as mascots
for athletic programs, a level of recognition less aggressive
wasps haven't been given. You never see team jerseys with
"Mud Daubers" or "Pedestrian Mason Wasps" on the front.
Regardless, the vast majority of wasp species aren't social
and don't aggressively defend their nests. Most live much
more independent lives, earning them the name "solitary
wasps."
A female solitary wasp constructs a nest, lays eggs
and hunts down food for her larvae, all by herself. She has a
stinger and knows how to use it, but because she is the only
female in her "colony," there's usually too much risk involved
in fi ghting. If she dies, so do her babies and any chance she
has of passing along her genetics. As a result, she saves her
venom for the insects or spiders she provides for her larvae.
Female solitary wasps often create nests by digging long
subterranean burrows, but some species nest above ground
in old wood or by building their own homes out of mud. Once
they have a nest, they create a cell in which they deposit both
egg and food. They then seal up the cell to protect it from
enemies and weather. Once enclosed in its little chamber, the
egg is left alone to hatch, feed and mature into an adult on
its own.
The nests of social wasps include multiple generations
of individuals living together and dividing up the labor
involved in raising young. As with many social bees, like
honey bees and bumble bees, a small percentage of social
wasp individuals are raised by the colony to be reproductive
females. Those reproductives, also known as queens, mate in
the fall and store sperm in their bodies through the winter
months. In the spring, they start constructing a nest and
then use the saved sperm to fertilize eggs as they lay them
in the nest. The fi rst generation produced is typically all
females, which take over the work of the colony, splitting into
An eastern yellowjacket (Vespula maculifrons) nest in the
author's garage. Yellowjackets are social nesters and defend
their nests, which are often found in and around human
dwellings. Because of this, they, along with paper wasps and
hornets, are the most likely to sting people.
