Wasp Patrol

The Life Cycle of European Wasps

Know your prey

The life cycle of European wasps begins in the spring when a fertilised queen which has hibernated through the winter emerges. By herself she makes 20 - 30 paper cells, lays eggs and tends the larvae for a number of weeks. These become the first workers and take over the tasks of nest building and feeding the larvae so the queen can devote herself to laying eggs.

Nests are commonly found along creek banks where there are willow or poplar trees, water, cape ivy – all resources they use to build their nest. Nests are made of chewed wood fibre (paper). They will be evident from a stream of wasps going in and out of a hole in the ground or building. They may also build in a hollow tree, or the walls and ceiling of a house.

Workers scour the area for food, meat, insects (including on the front of cars) and sweet food and drink.

The nest grows through the Summer and by mid January they have become a pest at BBQs and events. The nest continues to expand into the Autumn when a batch of queens and males are raised. These can often be seen circling conifers seeking to mate.

As the weather cools the fertilised queens find a sheltered spot to hibernate through the winter.  This may be behind some bark, in timber, in a house … The old queen dies, the nest disintegrates

Exception: In Australia’s warmer climate, or if they have built in a warm spot in a house, one of the young queens may stay in the nest over winter and keep laying eggs. This can result in extremely large nests over a period of years.