When queen wasps emerge from winter hibernation, their mission is very simple it is to find a suitable place to build their new nests.
Usual locations are sheds, lofts and holes in the ground but choosing the site is just the start of potential problems for homeowners. As no male wasps survive the winter queens will often work in groups, with one queen becoming dominant. The other queens then become her first workers.
Wasp nest stages
- The queen locates a suitable place for a nest
- Old wood is stripped and turned into paper paste
- The start of a wasp nest is a centre stalk is built somewhere secure and dry
- Paper like cells are added bit-by-bit to the centre stalk, and the queen begins to lay her eggs
- The wasp nest continues to grow as cells are added over the spring and summer months
- Nests are only used for one year, by late autumn it will be abandoned
