Did you know, that wasps can create their own paper? This material is what is used to create wasp nests. When a lone Queen wasp finds a good place to build, she begins to chew on wood fibres, mixes it with her saliva and then spits it back out to form walls. The nest starts as a durable, vertical stalk and then she builds an inverted cup shape that has 6 sided cells, as a nursery for larva. She also sprays this first part of the nest with a chemical that is able to repel ants.
When she is done with the first part, the Queen wasp lays eggs in the cells she created and when they then reach adulthood, these worker wasps will then continue to build the nest, allowing for the Queen to resign to egg laying.
It can typically take a hive around 2-4 weeks to build a full, finished nest.
