Northern Paper Wasp: a two-minute wildlife lesson
It knows its nestmates by their faces. When scientists painted a wasp's markings, the others treated it as a stranger until they got used to it.
Bees and Wasps · day 5 of 7
Five facts
- It knows its nestmates by their faces. When scientists painted a wasp's markings, the others treated it as a stranger until they got used to it.
- Rank shows in posture: the boss stands taller. Two equals may keep trying to rise above each other until they tumble off, a 'falling fight'.
- Nestmates fly straight in, while strangers hover. A forager too full to fly in fast can even be mistaken for an intruder.
- Wasps can learn their rank just by watching others fight, so they avoid having to battle themselves.
- To build, it scrapes fibres from dead wood and mixes them with water into pulp. It even collects water from drinking fountains and taps.
The quiz
1. How does a northern paper wasp recognise its nestmates?
- By their facial and body markings (correct)
- Only by their size
- By the sound of their wings
- It cannot tell them apart
It recognises individuals by their face and abdomen patterns, as a paint experiment showed.
2. What is a 'falling fight'?
- A fight between a wasp and a bird
- A race to the ground for food
- Two equal wasps trying to rise higher until they fall (correct)
- A wasp dropping its nest on purpose
Wasps of equal rank keep trying to stand higher and fight until they lose their grip and fall.
3. Why might a returning forager be mistaken for an intruder?
- She smells of flowers
- She is too full to fly in fast (correct)
- She has lost her stinger
- She comes back at night
Residents fly in swiftly; a forager too full to reach that speed may look like a stranger.
4. How can a wasp learn its rank without fighting?
- By counting the eggs it lays
- By measuring its own size
- By eating more food
- By watching other wasps fight (correct)
Through social eavesdropping, wasps watch the outcome of fights to work out their place.
5. What does the northern paper wasp mix with water to make nest paper?
- Mud
- Fibres from dead wood (correct)
- Flower petals
- Spider silk
It collects plant fibres from dead wood and mixes them with water into pulp.
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