Wasp Nest

Back in the summer a neighbour was unable to dead-head her roses as a large
wasp nest had been constructed right in the middle of this rose bush. The
guard wasps would buzz her threateningly if she started snipping near the
nest. Otherwise they were no trouble, so they were left in peace. A few days
ago I was told that all activity had stopped and I could come and dissect
the nest.

What a wondrous design and what a feat of engineering. It was almost rugby
ball in size and shape. The lower end was more pointed ( to allow the Welsh
rain to drip off?) The radiating twigs of the rose bush were integrated. The
whole thing was as light as a feather (not a very scientific measurement).

The outer casing was made of thousands of small pieces of thin wood-pulp
paper stuck together like papier-mache. The wasps' home would have a very
high score for insulation properties. Inside there were 5 horizontal shelves
of brood comb, also made of wood-pulp paper. The hexagonal cells were not
quite as crisp and geometric as those of the honeybee, but then the material
is different. Some of the cells were much larger and would have housed the
larvae of a lot of new queen wasps.

What I'd like to know is how this all started back in the spring. The
queen would have been fertilised last autumn. She would have spent the
winter somewhere snug, such as my neighbour's garage. She would have looked
for a suitable spot, an attic, a vacant rabbit hole, a hollow tree or even a
rose bush. She would have thought 'Ha. This should do.' Somehow, on her own
she would have started building a nest and rearing larvae. Later there would
be a workforce to make the thing bigger and bigger.

It would be a good Ph D project for a biology or engineering graduate to
study what happens. Time-lapse photography might be useful.
Most of the info on Google is concerned with zapping wasps.

Peter Byles.