Metric Paper Wasp

Here's a Metric Paper Wasp I met last summer. Despite their name, these wasps are not a meter in size; they're about an inch in length. 😀

These wasps are umbrella wasps, and I've talked about other umbrella wasps before:

The European Paper Wasp is an invasive species that's known to replace our Dark Paper Wasp, but they're probably a bit of a threat to outcompete our Metric Paper Wasps too.

Like most of their relatives, Metric Paper Wasps are eusocial:
  • Females cooperatively raise their young.
  • Multiple generations live together in a nest.
  • Dividing labor between reproductive and non-reproductive members of a nest.
It sounds like a colony starts each spring with 1 or more "foundresses" who were fertilized before winter. (Though there can be multiple foundresses, there's typically an alpha foundress that takes charge and who does most of the egg-laying.) They lay eggs that develop into female workers who could potentially reproduce but are discouraged from doing so by the foundresses. These female workers then take over the heavy lifting of feeding and protecting the colony, and the foundresses now lead safer, easier lives.

Given the early June date of this encounter, I'd pretty sure this is a foundress working on her nest.

June 8, 2022 at Duke Farms
Photo 209834655, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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