Journal of a paper wasp colony

2006-05-19T07:49:00.000-07:00

The wasps have been consuming a great deal. Over the past few days, they have finished three crickets, a number of mealworms and lots of raw and cooked chicken. I can see that some new workers have hatched; I have stopped counting them already!

A whole new lot of eggs have been laid, and some of the young larvae are now getting very big. Many of the larger larvae are now pupae. I noticed that the wasps reuse the cells over and over. The top cells have already raised 2 groups of workers, and are now housing a third group of larvae! The nest is also expanding slightly at the bottom.

In the past 2 or 3 days, I have been finding escaped wasps in the room. I found a hole at the side of the cage. It is very small, but the wasps can easily escape through it. It is quite an old hole, and I should have fixed it long ago. I don't know why I missed it. Anyway, it is now fixed. Hopefully there will be no more escapes.

Mad!!!

2006-05-14T22:31:00.000-07:00

Wasps hate any disturbance to their nests, and blowing or breathing on a nest, in particular, will get you into serious trouble under natural circumstances. Fortunately, what happened last night did not cause any injury to me because of the enclosure.

I was cleaning the cage at night, when the wasps are usually all sleeping. For some reason, my nose has been blocked the past couple of days, so I was probably breathing a little heavier than normal. Worse still, the room in which all animals in my place are kept can get stuffy at night. Thus while reaching into the far corner of the cage, I unknowingly inhaled deeply and then slowly breathed out. Suddenly, the wasps went berserk. Every single wasp except the queen and three workers left the nest, and flew in an agitated manner. Thankfully my quick reflexes enabled me to pull my arm out of the enclosure and close it in a split second. The wasps were not just flying wildly, they were flying towards the front of the cage, aiming at my silhoutte. Some started stinging the wire mesh! What a close shave. I shall have to watch my breathing when working with them.

There are now a total of 17 wasps. More larvae have started to pupate as well. Soon, I guess, I will no longer be able to count the number of wasps so easily!

Snapshot

2006-05-12T12:32:00.000-07:00

Here is a snapshot of the nest in its new location. They have adapted fast and are already able to make a beeline for the food and water dishes in their new locations.

The blue and white in the background is a sheet of canvas which I use to shade the nest area from the sunlight.

Relocation to a new home

2006-05-10T23:53:00.000-07:00

The colony has been steadily growing, and I thought the enclosure looked a little too cramped. Six or seven can be seen flying around the tank at any time, and their flight is quite limited. Therefore, I took out an old cage, originally intended for arboreal (tree-dwelling) reptiles such as geckos and chameleons; the wire mesh is very fine and ideal for a colony of these. The ventilation is also much better, and there is more space.

I tried pulling the suction hook off the tank, but it was too tight and the movement angered the wasps; I almost got stung. Therefore I used one of my tried-and-tested (but extremely time-consuming and requiring great patience) methods: luring the individual wasps off the nest with honey on a stick and then netting/bagging them. In this case, since it was within a confined space, I lured the wasps onto a cotton bud soaked with honey and then simply slipped a plastic bag over them; the net was unnecessary. It took nearly half an hour. There were 13 wasps excluding the original queen; 14 altogether. At this time, none of the workers are the same size as or bigger than the queen.

I tied the nest to a large branch, as shown in the photo. Taking a good look at the brood within the nest, I was surprised to find that many of the original cells have been reused and the larvae in them are quite big already. The number of new eggs, built in tiny new cells at the side, is surprisingly great. These new cells have been steadily increasing in number. They can be seen in this photo. Ten pupae can be seen at the bottom; ten new wasps can be expected soon!

To my chagrin, the part of the nest from which I tied it to the branch broke off. I could not find any other empty cell to attach it from, so I had to pull out one larva in order to slip the fishing line through! This was unfortunate, but the growth rate of the nest will not be affected much by just one larva. I decided, however, that the tension required to tie the nest to this branch would cause this empty cell to tear too. So I tied it to a hanging ornament I bought some time back. This is a small, light ball-shaped object made of rattan , originally for use as a household decoration. I easily tied the nest to it, and then tied it through the top of the new wire mesh enclosure. I then introduced the wasps back to the nest and left them alone.

All this was done last night. This morning, they seem to have adapted fine. I will try to take photos of the new setup later.

Steady growth

2006-05-02T14:41:00.000-07:00

I have been busy over the past few days, spending time with old friends and returning home quite late. Thus I did not have much time to observe the colony, except to change the paper lining and leaving food for them.

The wasps are active now and able to forage. I put two small dishes in the cage; one contains some water and the other some food, usually a piece of ham or meat, or sometimes a killed cricket (I recently bought crickets to feed my other pets).

For the first time, I can see some noticeable growth in the size of the nest. At least twenty new cells have been constructed. At least ten eggs have hatched into larvae, and some of the older larvae have pupated. And there are a number of new workers too. There were eight yesterday (1st May). However, there are only seven today. I suspect one escaped while I was cleaning the cage; I saw a wasp-like shape flying round my living room this morning but lost track of it.

I will take some more photos of the nest soon.

New cells + new introduced worker

2006-04-25T23:40:00.000-07:00

Over the past few days, I have noticed a slow but steady increase in the number of new cells. Most of these now have eggs in them; a couple already house larvae.

There is now a fourth worker, bringing the colony size to five. However, this worker did not hatch out from this nest. I obtained her after a failed nest relocation. I installed another nest of this species outside my window, but did not give them enough time to adapt to the new surroundings. The queen and two workers thus flew away. The remaining worker deserted the nest and flew into my living room from the window.

Recalling several incidents when foreign workers joined another nest, I caught her and decided to try something. I put her in a container for a couple of hours to make her less flighty, then gently opened the cover and raised the container to this nest. She climbed out without hesitation. The queen and two other workers immediately gathered around and appeared to be "licking" or gently biting her. This is probably a way of enforcing their dominance. However, she was quickly accepted into this colony, and soon started foraging and even repairing cells.

2006-04-23T23:23:00.000-07:00

I gave the wasps another grasshopper. This time, I used the forceps to place the grasshopper directly on the nest surface. The wasps reacted violently; they latched on and stung the grasshopper continuously. Being quite heavy, it dropped off the nest, with one wasp still latched on to it. This wasp continued to bite and sting, even though it was being dragged around the enclosure by the much stronger grasshopper. The wasp bit one of the grasshopper's antennae, plunging her sting repeatedly into the abdomen all the while. Finally, the grasshopper weakened and toppled over. A result of the stinging? The wasp bit off a leg and flew back to the nest. I then picked it up with the forceps and slowly offered it to the other wasps on the nest. This time, the combined efforts of the other wasps enabled them to dismember it without dropping it.

Recent photo

2006-04-22T08:34:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of the nest with three workers. I accidentally banged on the tank wall while opening the cover; this is the reason why the two workers at the top are in a defensive posture. The two older workers are also very mobile now, flying around the tank throughout the day.

2006-04-21T09:12:00.000-07:00

A new worker hatched today.

I am busy at the moment, so I shall check back and photograph them later.

Unusual food hanging behaviour.

2006-04-20T23:27:00.000-07:00

I offered the wasps a small grasshopper today. I had to use forceps for this, but since the grasshopper's head was far away from the tip of the forceps, they weren't really bothered. All three pounced on the grasshopper, stinging it repeatedly before proceeding to bite and chew it open.

Some unusual behaviour was seen today. The grasshopper, though small, was bigger than the wasps, and obviously had lots of flesh. They could not feed all to the larvae, but they actually hung/stuck the remaining part on one corner of the nest! It was there virtually the whole day. I observed them going back to bite out some flesh every now and then. Finally, at around 10 p.m., all that was left was the empty shell. The wasps then dropped it off the nest. This behaviour is fascinating; it is almost like keeping a larder!

The photo is of very poor quality because it was shot through glass.

2006-04-19T22:51:00.000-07:00

On a closer look, one of the pupae is starting to attain adult colouration. This means it will hatch soon.

Not much change

2006-04-19T21:14:00.000-07:00

This morning, the first worker has started flying all around the enclosure, getting used to her surroundings. The second one is already more mobile. She has started moving all over the nest.

There is not much change to the nest. The only difference is that three new cells have been constructed and there is an egg in each one. I did not see which wasp made the cells or laid the eggs; I am also not sure which piece of wood they used for it. It could have well been the paper towel, since this shows some bite marks! Still, I am usually not at home till evening, so I'm sure I miss much of the activity.

I noticed something new. The wasps hate my long steel forceps. When I offer food on it, they ignore the food, but latch on to the forceps and sting it viciously! All three got into a frenzy tonight when I fed them with the forceps. They stayed in a threat posture, with legs raised and mandibles wide open, even after I hurriedly withdrew the forceps. They never show such aggression towards the toothpick, so I have to use it, although the distance from my hand to the nest is shortened considerably. When the workers are more in number, I can start simply leaving food in a dish and let them forage on their own.

As expected, they have become tired of cooked chicken. However, they are taking luncheon meat again. I also gave them some raw chicken, which they readily grabbed.

Another worker

2006-04-17T23:54:00.000-07:00

The first worker rested on the nest the whole day, but was quite mobile by evening, and eagerly took a piece of cooked chicken to feed the larvae. Halfway through, the queen snatched the chicken and started feeding the larvae herself. Earlier in the day, I had offered her a piece of luncheon meat, but she did not take it. Perhaps she was lying still to let her exoskeleton harden.

I notice something strange about these wasps. They take virtually all kinds of meaty foods, but will not use the same thing more than twice in a row! They have so far got tired of ham and luncheon meat, but eagerly accept cooked chicken now.

At night, I saw a new worker, again lying flat against the nest. It was quite late so I didn't upload the photo I took. I shall do it the next morning or later.

First worker!

2006-04-16T22:41:00.000-07:00

The first worker hatched today. It was around 11 p.m.; I checked the room where I keep these wasps and other creatures, as I do every night. I looked into the enclosure only to see the new wasp half out of her pupal cell. I rushed for my camera and managed to get a couple of shots.

The new wasp is a lot smaller and lighter in colour than the queen. In these wasps, there is no distinct difference between queens and workers (the queen is simply a young female who had mated, survived the winter and managed to start a new nest). However, the first workers are usually very small, because the queen has to single-handedly feed so many larvae; thus they are not as well-nourished as their younger siblings will be. The colour will darken after a few days too.

Feeding and foraging

2006-04-16T22:22:00.000-07:00

I gave the wasps two other grasshoppers today. The first was eaten and dismembered on the nest as before. The second was grabbed by one of the wasps, whereby the weight of the grasshopper caused both to fall to the tank floor together. The wasp proceeded to latch on and sting repeatedly, even as the grasshopper dragged it along. The wasp seized it by the antennae to gain leverage and continued attacking, still stinging over and over. Finally, she bit off its head, then proceeded to cut flesh out from the thorax and brought it back to the nest.

At the same time, I had a couple of Vespa velutina hornet pupae, left over from a failed nest relocation for this species. I offered one of them to the colony, and the wasps took it but dropped it, apparently due to the weight. I decided to leave it alone instead of manually offering it to them, since the workers are now actively foraging. Surely enough, one of them found it and started biting off parts of it; she flew round and round in circles instead of straight back to the nest. I guessed that was to reorientate and memorise the location, and I was right. She returned another six times, eventually reducing the pupa to nothing.

Settled in

2006-04-14T23:14:00.000-07:00

The queen has so far adapted well. I have set up the enclosure simply, with a lining of paper towel at the bottom, several pieces of different types of wood and tree bark and a type of jelly as supplementary food. This jelly is high in fruit juice and several types of sugar. It is, in fact, specially formulated for fruit-eating beetles, and in my experience, wasps love it. I can simply slide the cover off and replace the paper towel lining without disturbing the nest; in any case, I usually do this at night. The first photo is a rough view of the nest and the setup.

One pupal cell was damaged during the journey back. The queen later pulled the pupa out, chewing it up and then feeding it to the other larvae! Maybe she knew by instinct that it would rot if left alone too long.

Besides that, she has accepted bits of ham left over from my lunch, offered to her on a toothpick! It is amazing, and I never get tired of feeding these wasps. Here she cuts it up and feeds it to her larvae.

First post and a simple intro

2006-04-12T22:40:00.000-07:00

Welcome! This first post will give you a rough idea of what this diary is about.

For those who do not already know, I am located in Hong Kong, and observing bees and wasps, especially the social species, is one of my greatest passions. I have had much experience in the previous couple of years relocating nests of wasps in problematic areas (places with high human traffic or where children frequent). This time, I am attempting to raise a colony of Parapolybia nodosa. This is a small wasp (members of this group are commonly called the lesser paper wasps) which builds open nests without a protective envelope, and can reach colony sizes of several hundreds.

The reason I am doing this? Mainly just as an experiment and to see what size a colony can reach under controlled conditions. I choose Parapolybia nodosa for three reasons. Firstly, it is an extremely common species in Hong Kong, so I won't worry about depleting a rarer species. Secondly, this species can be a "pest". This is because it is a very adaptable creature. They like to nest in all the wrong places (playgrounds, schools, fences and gates, ornamental plants). People often get stung when they accidentally disturb a nest. Furthermore, this species is attracted to our food and will attempt to feed on sweet stuff, and also bring meat back to feed its larvae. Lastly, this species is easy to work with. The nest is surprisingly sturdy and easy to transplant. This species is also easy to move without angering the wasps excessively. Furthermore, I can supplement their diet with all kinds of food (other species have to be provided insects if they are to be maintained successfully).

Each spring, I spend much of my free time searching all urban parks and other such places in Hong Kong, looking for nests which might pose a problem when they get bigger. I usually relocate them, either to some deserted countryside or outside my window. Nests are easy to take care of at this time because there are few wasps. In fact, I usually aim to take a nest when there is only a queen and several pupae. As in this case. This time, I tied the nest to a suction hook. I then stuck it onto the side (actually the bottom) of an upturned plastic terrarium, the type sometimes known as "kritter keepers" which are commonly used to house insects, small fish and small reptiles. I reintroduced the queen back as usual. This will be their home for now, but I may relocate them later if the nest outgrows this enclosure.