[NatureNS] Missing wasp nest.

From: ulli@dunlin.ca
To: <duartess@ns.sympatico.ca>, naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2012 23:01:17 -0300
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> Do you mean they eat the nest material & recycle it, or, they eat the eggs and larva & then re-locate? Regardless, this is very interesting! Wonder if other social insects that build these community type nests, do this too.
> 
> Gayle MacLean
> Dartmouth


Well,

A number of social insects are able to relocate their nests and what is in them, but I am sure 
that the waps in question -lets call them paperwasps- are not able to do this.

In wasps and bumblebees only mated queens, that hatched during the summer will hibernate 
and start from scratch the following year. All others, workers and the queen mom will die 
latest when the first frost hits.

In contrast to this ant and honey bee species form permanent states, and in those a strong 
population of workers will hibernate with the queen(s).  The new queens of the year will have 
their own collonies formed by the time winter comes (bees, most ants).  For the collonies 
survival stockpiling supplies during the summer (i.e. honey in bees) is mandatory. To allow 
for efficient foraging these groups have a sophisticated communication system based on 
chemicals (pheromones) and behaviour (dance language of bees). In paperwasps part of this 
communication system is present (alarm pheromones for nest defence), other parts of it like 
recruitment of enst mates for foraging and guiding nestmates to distant locations is not.  In 
wasps every wasp goes out on her own to bring food for feeding the larvae in the nest, and 
there it goes from the door to the mouth, i.e. no stockpiling of supplies.  If you feel bothered 
by wasps during a picnic be glad they don't talk to each other like honey bees.  If a 
beekeeper doesn't pay attention and leaves a box with honey combs where it can be found 
by scouts the place will be swarming with 1000s of bees in no time to reclaim the lost 
treasure.

In ants and bees the same communication mechanisms used to inform and guide nestmates 
to food sources is used during nest relocation.  Scouts find suitable locations and direct the 
whole family by setting chemical trails (ants) or dance (bee, but here pheromones are 
involved in close range orientation.   Comparing different ant species is interesting, since we 
can find here species with little more communication than wasps and some that broadcast 
information like honeybees. 

Ants will move everything (food, eggs, larvae, pupae), bees just the food supplies (honey).  
Reason for this? Ants rear their offspring in simple cavities -not much prep work required-, 
while bees need the elaborate honey comb structures to do this.

Those have to be rebuild in the new location as bees will leave the honey combs, made of 
wax = fat= energy rich, behind and rebuilt from scratch.  Compared with wax the wooden 
base used by wasps has no energy value.  Like most animals they can not digest it.  So even 
if they would be able to relocate they would likely leave the furniture behind.

Now why do we find prematurely abandoned, mostly still intact wasp nests?  Predation by 
other wasps is one possible cause that was already mentioned, but ants are another very 
possible -and powerful- reason.  Kill the queen and the war is won!

Ulli  

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