My P.dominula colony reached the end of its life cycle, so I thought about doing a video recap illustrating their development from day one to today. Enjoy!✌️ Southern Italy March to August 2020
Wasps are among the most interesting and complex insects that exist, unfortunately most people just see them as pests. I hope at least someone changes their mind watching my videos
@@waspjournals41 I got paper wasps in my yard for the first time about 2 years ago. I was scared at first, but looked them up and saw that they eat pests. So I learnt to live with them, and have grown to love them! I've never been stung and I'm around them all the time. The heat seems to agitated them. So I spray cool water on my plant leaves for them, and they always come down and drink, then seem more relaxed. I see them as friends and allies now. I do wish they would learn about personal space though XD; I still can't help but wince when they fly fast near my head.
Cool video. I have 1 female with a small nest on my porch. My curiosity led me here. I'll attempt to relocate her with her nest. The nest is right at our door, and I just can't leave it. I don't want to hurt her either. I've been watching her for a couple of weeks, but I would eventually have to dive thru the front door to not agitate them. Gotta move it somehow. At night and gently, I'm assuming is best... I'm trying not to kill wasps this year, I know they play an important role.
Depends on time of the year. They get super aggressive early fall where I am. Even if you are standing in no where they will harass you. It is usually yellow jacket other wasp and bees even hornet leaves you alone
This was truly amazing and inspiring it was really beautiful and interesting to see Family start out for nothing thrive, and flourish, and then ultimately fall to the passage of time 💯
I live out in the southwest and my family has a pool because it gets so hot out. It attracts the Yellow Paper Wasps, though, but I found out they are extremely docile and don't mind being rescued when they land incorrectly and start drowning. They'll actually climb all over you if you are extremely gentle, but they are defensive insects that can and will sting if threatened, so don't go provoking them or their nests. They actually are really grateful little things when you save them, and I don't mind them landing in the pool because they are only thirsty. Besides, they know it's a source of water and they want it to stay their source of water, so they're not gonna do anything to get kicked out of our yard.
Excellent video! Very interesting. Last year, we had a p.dominula colony living in our bell chime which hangs from the eaves right next to the back door. I was concerned about getting stung but then I read somewhere that "wasps won't reuse an old nest" so I decided to just leave them alone and the problem would resolve itself. WRONG. They did indeed reuse the nest this summer. And suddenly this morning they are swarming all over the bell and making short flights around the yard. I go in and out that door all day long and so far they don't seem to notice me. They even tolerated me cleaning the outside glass of the window of my storm door so that I can see them better from inside. I hurried, though. Don't wanna press my luck. They sure are beautiful insects.
What an interesting video! I am currently watching a nest being built and tended outside my office window and decided to watch instead of destroy. I wonder how you were able to move your nest outside and attach it to a window without getting stung?
Wow. That nest was thriving so well that I thought it might become a super colony! But unfortunately, all things must come to an end. That nest was a huge and thriving empire! But their life-cycle makes it to where almost no nest can become a super colony. But still the video was amazing, and I hope you try to raise other wasp species. Maybe even yellowjackets or hornets.
@@waspjournals41 I've seen polistes annularis nests survive winter (I live down south where there are very mild winters) and become larger than a basketball. I'm pretty sure those nests have multiple queens on them. I don't know of those qualify for "supercolonies" but I just thought I'd share that.
@@jessicacobbs3872 the recycling of an old nest does not qualify as a super colony, because it's only the fertile females that overwinter, not the workers. Several species of Polistes wasps are known to reuse old nests, including P.dominula.
@@jessicacobbs3872 how do you know workers survived? There is no physical difference between workers and queens in Polistes. Not saying you're lying, but I need more information.
theres a small p.dominula colony right in front of my house. i know their invasive to my area but i just dont have the heart to kill them off. theyre very nice and let me stand very close to their nest and observe them. ive never been stung by one and they just seem content to do their thing.
I recently have been feeding an abandoned paper wasp larvae (so adorable to me) 3 hatched but died soon after. I had no idea what to do for them right after they hatched. I have one little guy left that I’m feeding, he’s holding up strong so far but if you can give me advice for when he hatches. He is the last one though which breaks my heart 😢
I am a wasp nest Hunter there is a large wasp Nest at a local hobby lobby we try to knock it down and then we got stung! Good thing we are not allergic
maculifrons I love your videos about you raising wasps! I like to try my self! But quick question, do the larva eat honey or syrup as a food or you feed them insects every day?
I am currently painting my fence, and I found one paper wasp nest at work, according to your Video, I think it or they probably has been working on it for weeks?, I don’t want to hurt it. Is there any chance I can relocate it?
Thanks! The larvae need proteins to grow, so prey items need to be available at all times. In the founding stage, when just the queen was present, I directly gave her mealworms with a pair of tweezers, so she didn't even have to look for them. When the first workers hatched I decided to put the prey items in a small bowl and refill it whenever they ran out, which sometimes was up to three or four times a day
In the spring, when I collect my foundresses, they're all fertile and ready to nest. When the colony is adult, the newly emerged fertile females often have a larger abdomen, do not work and tend to be inactive all day, spending much of their time perching either on the back of the comb or nearby.
@@waspjournals41 Not much, I gassed them again but no building as of yet. If co2 narcosis works through oxidative stress pathways it might take more incidents or longer ones to incite all the changes. Most recent one was for an hour, still experimenting.
Also have a wasp nest by my back gate. Been stung a few times coming n going in. Want to relocate them without killing or injuring them...not surely how to go about it
Paper wasps (Polistes) are only able to consume soft-bodied insects as their source of protein. I give them mealworms and maggots (and the flies that develop from these). I either buy the maggots from a bait shop or farm them myself by leaving a little bit of ground meat in a container outside until flies lay eggs on it. So far, this method has proven to be very effective and cheap. My wasps LOVE house-farmed maggots.
@@Sam-kb1lt hornets are not that aggressive, anyway no, I haven't tried. It's much harder and requires a bigger space. I think I will in the future though
AWSOME VIDEO! I love watching wasps and all the things they do. I have a wasp on my patio thats nest got nocked down in a storm i was wondering if you could help me with capturing and feeding and helping it rebuild and populate?!?!? GREAT VID THO
@@emmetthoffman195 are you sure? Hornets don't usually have nests with just 4 or 5 workers this late in the year, and their nests have an envelope so it's hard to quantify them exactly
No Vespula, but last year I raised a P.nimpha colony (a little bit more difficult) and sometimes, when I find a P.gallicus nest that's located in a vulnerable spot, I bring it home and keep that too. I sent you a private message on Facebook :)
@@temporarily-gone one day, when I have enough space and experience, I will definitely try! However I still find Polistes wasps more fascinating, as their complex hierarchies are not found in Vespula or Dolichovespula, and their naked combs are perfect for observation. They're also much easier to manage.
@@waspjournals41 I agree, they are quite fascinating. I remember one time when there was a little crack in one of the bricks of my house that a polistes carolina queen made her nest in. I saw the workers on the outside of the nest in summer and would give them honey. When fall came I kept on giving them honey and I almost made them survive the winter, but we had a snow storm. That was what killed them. I was sad, but then I saw another queen of the same species building it's nest in an old grill.The nest got huge. I really liked that nest and I was even able to mark the queen.
I have some growing outside of my bedroom window, we are becoming close friends lol JK ... Started with a single one, now they are growing into 5... I wonder how big will be?
Okay! So I jog in my yard and I had to knock down a nest of these. One of them stung me in the process. My ear was hurting for about two weeks! They started to rebuild in the same exact spot so i was like fuck it. But then a wood spider came along and made its web right beside the new nest. I saw wasps caucuses in its web one day and eventually many of the wasps disappeared…babies left alone and died. I guess the ants smelled them and made their way up to the dead or dying babies and ate them….Felt bad for knocking down the very first nest ☹️
In the spring, when I collect my foundresses, they're all fertile and ready to nest. When the colony is adult, the newly emerged fertile females often have a larger abdomen, do not work and tend to be inactive all day, resting and perching often outside the nest (workers often kick them out when they reach 1 week of age).
It usually just degrades over time, however sometimes a few of the females who were born on it will come back after overwintering and recolonize it. This only happens if the nest is in a sheltered location where rain and wind can't ruin it.
Everyone talks about the death of all workers at the end of the season. As a roofer, my poor winter-stung arse says otherwise as lots and lots hibernate under roofing tiles and slates. Are these not workers? Great vid.
Workers are completely unable to hibernate,.and die by the time winter starts. The ones you come across in the winter are most definitely fertile females waiting for the spring to start new nests.
I had a nest in kitchen window (on outside) i have been lookin after since june. The last wasp died the other day. Google says they live for a few months. Nah these things lived for 6
There are no active wasps or nests in the winter. The entire colony dies out except a few fertilized females that start over from scratch in the spring
