Waspish - Post-Election Lessons in Nesting for the Future

Learning From the Masters - Image courtesy of Laura Weber, Paper Wasp Nest courtesy of our Social Vespid Polistine Kin

Nothing quite compares with Paper Wasps when nesting for the future.

They're brilliant at safeguarding without attacking first, and they create some of the most astounding, aesthetically pleasing, and resilient nests around!

"Wasps, completely independent of the Egyptians, invented paper. Waking all alone in Spring, with only the memory of her daughters’ corpses to warm her, the pre-fertilized wasp queen crawls from her winter hidey-hole and begins to scrape bits of wood fiber from fences, logs, and cardboard. She chews the fiber into papier mache, flies to a new nest site, and pastes together a little nest to rear her first workers in. Her daughters take over, mixing their own sticky saliva with recycled cellulose to make a lovely, waterproof nest rivaling the finest Italian endpaper. These delicate cardboard tubes are surprisingly strong, because the wasps instinctively (with their mouthparts) orient all the wood fibers in parallel. They even add ant repellant to the slurry!" (Source)

Brilliant! Paper wasps' nests are magnificent architectural feats, a testament to the awesome complexity and resilience of Nature.

What can we learn from Paper Wasps? Especially post-mid-term elections?

Image courtesy of Unsplash photographer, Sandy Millar

First of all, they thrive because of their commitment to their young: Paper wasps live, reproduce, and die in a season. Their entire lives are devoted to caring for their young. Reproductive males and females are reared in temperate climates, usually in the autumn. Males attract females with pheromones while the queens search and select a mate. Only new queens hibernate overwinter in a sheltered location; males and un-mated females die before spring, the fate of their offspring resting in the resiliency of the queens and the life they nurture. It's quite an astounding cycle.

Image courtesy of Unsplash photographer, Carol Gauthier

In the spring, a queen searches for a suitable location to begin and maintain a new nest typically by herself, until the first brood of female worker wasps matures and assists in construction of the nest and care for the young. The adult workers hunt for prey, including caterpillars, flies, and beetle larvae, masticate (chew thoroughly) the remains, and feed them to their young. Adults are also regularly searching for water to hydrate and cool the larvae in their cells. When the larvae mature, the workers cap the cell, sealing them in until the adults break out of their pupal shells. While the nest is still open, it is able to reflect light to maintain a stable temperature in summer's heat. The nest material provides some insulation so it can be subjected to elevated temperatures with sun exposure or high ambient temperatures. The wasps can cool the nest by fanning their wings and bringing water droplets to the cells, so that evaporation may provide substantial cooling. It's a self-sufficient system, with adults caring for the young in the entire nest, keeping them fed, watered, cool, and safe.

What if we live for others, for the whole, rather than just ourselves?

Image courtesy of Unsplash photographer, Tom Sid

Second, they are known for their defensive vs. aggressive nature: Polistine paper wasps will generally only attack if they themselves or their nest are threatened. Their stings are painful and can produce a potentially fatal anaphylactic reaction in some humans, but their posture is defensive rather than aggressive. A study conducted on European paper wasps (Polistes dominula) concluded that wasps with brighter aposematic colors are more venomous, because they have larger venom glands, and offer a stronger warning signal to organisms threatening the nest. In other words, their colors offer a warning to would-be attackers, but they do not generally attack without being threatened.

A great lesson for those obsessed with preemptive violence, hostile takeovers, and military overpowering is to wait and protect, rather than attack without cause.

Image courtesy of Unsplash photographer, Victor G

Third, they contribute to the wider "We" of creation: Paper wasps are considered beneficial by gardeners because they are known pollinators and feed on garden pests. They are beneficial in their natural habitat and are critically important in natural biocontrol. Paper wasps seek sugars like nectar, aphid honeydew, and the sugary liquid produced by their larvae. And they know how to build a sustainable home! If we could tap the adhesive, ant-repellant secrets of their saliva, maybe we could utilize their alchemical spit-elixir to compost the detritus of Project 2025 and Lee Zeldin's dismantling of the EPA. Dual threats against Nature!

Image courtesy of Unsplash photographer, Skyler Ewing

While the post-mid-term euphoria or malaise, depending upon perspective, is upon us, maybe we can learn from our social wasp-kin how to work together, care for our young and their future, and tend to the good of the whole. We need to do it better, even if it stings.