Formic Colony @formic-colony-blog - Tumblr Blog

Anub'arak, The Traitor King by Wei Wang

An interesting thing I learned about wasps today

Wasps store sperm inside their body and control its release for each individual egg as it is laid; if a female wishes to produce a male egg, she simply lays the egg without fertilizing it. Therefore, under most conditions in most species, wasps have complete voluntary control over the sex of their offspring.

– Wikipedia

kearunning

There appear to be five wasps split between three nests. The bigger nests must be at least a year old, one of them may be up to two years old, so I don’t think the wasps are using them for anything except shelter, though I can’t actually see inside the combs so it’s hard to say for certain.

Having four foundresses is really quite odd, so I expect some drama in the future. Perhaps they are all sisters and returned to their mother’s old nest?

cactus-lazuli

so apparently wasps “feet” allow them to create surface tension on water

amnhnyc

Take a look at the wonderful world of wasp nests! The Museum houses the world’s largest collection of wasp nests, numbering over 1,200 specimens. This colorful nest created by a colony of bald-faced hornets (Dolichovespula maculata). Collected in nearby Rye Brook, NY, this is one of the largest nests in the Museum’s collections, 18 inches long.

See many more nests.

AMNH/D.Finnin