What do bees make honeycombs and hives, and wasps make nests of? How are bumblebees arranged? Details about wasp larvae and features of their life cycle.

The paper wasp is an insect that belongs to the family "Real Wasps" and is directly related to the subfamily "Vespins" or "Polistinas".

Members of this family are used as building material when building their nests - pieces of wood.

More this species wasps are called "Public Wasps". The fact is that they live exclusively by creating colonies, it can contain from several tens to several thousand individuals. The development stages are in the following order:

• Larva;
• chrysalis;
• adult;

AT summer season the colony consists of a queen and worker wasps. The queen lays her eggs, and the working class maintains their nest, forages, protects their home and other jobs.

In nature, there are about 1000 species of wasps. Insects live all over the globe except for Antarctica. About thirty percent of the species of these insects live in the Russian Federation. The aspen number of insects of this species is concentrated in South Asia.

Insects extract building material from rotten stumps, old wood, and presumably use municipal solid waste. What actually explains the color of the dwelling.

They use a very specific method of extracting this material. The insect walks with its incisors lowered back to the base of the tree cover, then wets it and begins to scrape off particles of wood. Having collected a small lump of wood fiber, she flies to the nest building site.

It must be said that the paper wasp and its nest is the main mission that it performs in the construction of its housing in its short life span, since it cannot exist and reproduce in the absence of a shelter. On the spot, the wasp chews the whole lump again and tries to moisten it as much as possible with its sticky saliva.

Then she sits on the edge of a cell of a dwelling under construction and, moving backwards, rolls products into stripes. Then he takes it with his jaws and stretches it along existing wall. Subsequently, all the following products will be superimposed on each other.

The construction of a dwelling takes place in several stages. In early spring, the female paper wasp chooses a site for the main stem structure of the future nest. Then he constructs it, and at the end of it he builds a couple of combs. A constantly expanding shell is made at the trunk. It has an entrance hole for an insect.

Around 1st shell hornet's nest the second is being built, but a little more. In connection with this, there is a significant increase in housing. Further, near a pair of cells, she builds others, thereby, honeycombs appear. When the number of cells (honeycombs) increases, the female gets rid of the inner shell. In the process of growth of the wasp dwelling, cells and shells in its nutria are eliminated.

Inside the dwelling, honeycombs are arranged horizontally and are occupied by cells on the 1st lower side. With the increase in the dimensions of the dwelling, the number of floors also increases. Wasps are able to build multi-storey honeycombs, which in turn have a protective shell, it is able to protect offspring from exposure environment- dampness, wind, temperature and more.

Inside a fully built nest, a temperature of 30 degrees is set, which allows the larvae to develop normally. Nevertheless, the main role in the construction of the dwelling falls on the shoulders of the wasps of the working class.

The founder of the colony is a female, so at first there is no working class of wasps, she herself takes care of the larvae, feeds, protects, takes all care of the future offspring. At first, the larvae of the paper wasp feed on a secret that secretes the glands of the female. When the larvae grow up, she begins to feed them with various insects.

One of the first larvae are individuals of the working class. They have enough work. Here are some of the tasks that they begin to perform on the very first day after development:

• Continue nest building;
• Hunting for insects;
• Feeding other larvae;
• home security;

The wasps chew on the victims they catch and carry them to their homes in a hurry. They feed the female and their brethren with food. Tellingly, the larvae can also feed the working class of wasps. They regurgitate liquid, which the wasps immediately lick off. This gape trophollaxis, when in the nutria of the colony they exchange food.

In a colony, all wasps have equal rights and perform all functions in the same way. If for some reason the female disappears, they themselves will begin to lay eggs, raise offspring, using the natural instinct of self-preservation of the clan. During the summer, the number of wasps increases significantly from 10 to 1300 individuals. Most of them will die, only the chosen ones will be destined to continue the race.

By the end of the season, male wasps are selected from large cells. For some time they pass the time while in the nest. When their wings get stronger, they fly out of their homes and start mating.

After some time, they die, and the female wasps try to spend the winter in order to create their own clan in the spring. Before the onset of cold weather, the working class of wasps ceases active and violent activity. They do not feed the larvae, but rather eat them, including pupae.

Nutrition

Wasps eat very diversely, they can eat sweet food, or they can treat themselves to insect meat. Let's give a few examples from the daily menu of this type of wasp:

• - Vegetable menu;
• - grape nectar;
• - nectar of pears, apples, peaches and other fruits;
• - nectar collected from flowers (extremely rare);
• - Mining
• - flies;
• - ants;
• - grasshoppers;
• - butterflies and other small insects;

We remind you that before the wasp takes its caught prey to the nest, it chews it thoroughly.

The life of paper wasps will directly depend on its habitats. On continents with a temperate tropical climate, it can live for about a year, some individuals live for more than 12 months. In other cases, no more than 6 - 9 months.

The photo of a hornet's nest impresses with the complexity of the structure, technique, and materials. In one huge architectural building» can accommodate about 1 million individuals. Construction functions are assigned to a certain caste of workers. The hornet's nest expands as the family grows. In most cases, wasps return to their former home after laying the foundation for a new family.

Construction material

The completed wasp nest is impressive. From the outside, it looks like a smooth, oval-shaped egg. Inside, numerous honeycombs are found, arranged in a certain way. The building material resembles ancient parchment. Mostly grey, brownish. Because of the way wasps build their nests, they are nicknamed. The family is one of the most numerous, includes species, subspecies.

What wasps make nests from and how they get building material also deserves respect. An insect sits on wood, spits a certain amount own secret, under the influence of which the upper tissues tree bark liquefy. wasp clings upper layer powerful jaws, pulls on itself, as if scraping. When the amount she needs is reached, she goes to a place where other relatives make a hive.

Arriving at the right place, the wasp once again carefully chews the building material with its jaws. Under the influence of saliva, the wood becomes sticky, viscous, gray or Brown, depending on which tree it was obtained from. The wasp spits the finished building material onto the already formed honeycombs, stretches it again with its jaws, giving its structure an oval shape. So a new thin partition appears.

Interesting!

Wasp extracts wood elements from the bark different trees, stumps, fences, wooden outbuildings. If there is not enough building material or the uterus finds a place suitable for growing larvae, the wasps build a nest underground, in old stumps, hollows left by bird houses.

Construction process

A fertilized young woman chooses a place for her future housing. It sticks a sticky substance extracted from wood to the base, stretches it, a leg is formed, on which the first honeycombs are subsequently built. Initially, there are very few of them, they are necessary for growing, feeding larvae.

The process starts in early spring. Within a month, a new generation of worker wasps appears, which begin the active construction of the hive. The uterus relinquishes the powers of the architect, is only engaged in.

• A hornet's nest is being built at an accelerated pace, as the number of members of a large family is rapidly increasing. New cells appear at the base of the handle, which overlap each other to form honeycombs.
• As the number of cells increases, the shape of the structure in the form of a bowl begins to emerge. Over time, it increases in depth, expands from all sides, becomes like a sphere. There is an entry hole in the center.
• Gradually, the structure of the second part of the sphere begins. The number of cells decreases towards the top. The finished large hornet's nest resembles a cocoon.

After the construction is completed, the uterus removes several layers of internal cells in the first sphere. As the wasps make the honeycomb wide, the space inside is freed up. The outer shell of the nest is thin, papery. It is formed from long, thin, elastic plates. In most cases, recycled building material is used, which is taken after destruction. inner layers hive.

What does a hornet's nest look like from the inside?

The internal structure is funny, thoughtful, amazing. Honeycombs are placed vertically in peculiar floors, after every 3-6 rows there is free space. It is also surprising that all the cells are directed downward in one direction. A sectional photo of a wasp nest can be seen below. You can cut the hive only if you are sure that it is empty.

Interesting!

The average typical structure of wasps does not exceed the size of an apple. In some cases, giant round nests of wasps grow to incredible sizes. They are 1 m in diameter. Wasps in a wasp nest of incredible size count several thousand, up to a million.

The device of the hive is thought out to the smallest detail. Inner part always the strongest, most reliable. Honeycombs are built not from a thin sticky secret, similar to paper, but from wood chips, in such a size that workers can carry and attach. Inside the wasp nest there are chambers for larvae, a room for the queen, pantries for food and much more.

Wasp wintering place

Looking at the inside external building hornet's nest, it seems that the family will spend more than one year there. Just like it does with ants. However, large buildings, complex architectural structures play the role of a summer house.

With the onset of autumn, young sexually mature females mate, begin to look for appropriate place for wintering - cracks in the wall, wooden buildings, tree bark, old stumps, abandoned hollows. Over time, metabolic processes slow down, the female falls into suspended animation, sleeps until the beginning of spring. From the first warm days, he starts building a new hive.

On a note!

The remaining members of the family die from the cold in autumn or become victims of natural enemies. They lose their former activity, become slow, vulnerable. At the end of the season, the old queen, working individuals, and males die.

Where do wasps build nests?

The young uterus chooses a place where there is building material and food supplies in the immediate vicinity. AT wild nature insects equip housing on a tree with a large, dense crown, under old stumps, abandoned bird houses. However, there are cases of building a hive under a stone, on a blade of grass. Where the young female considers it necessary to build housing, workers will continue to build there.

Insects can build a hive near a person - under the roof of a house, household wooden outbuildings, in the attic, balcony, live in the garden, yard, vegetable garden, vineyard. And also on trees, bushes, old stumps on the site. If in the wild, wasps bring a lot of benefits, they destroy harmful insects, in the garden, suburban area, yard, become real pests. Therefore, a person tries,.

On a note!

It's very easy to piss off a wasp. A few quick movements are enough for her to rush to attack. During the attack, it makes special sounds - signals, warns other members of society about the danger, and also calls for help. If there is a nest nearby, a whole swarm can attack a person.

Fighting methods

To get rid of a hornet's nest land plot, it is poured boiled water or doused with a combustible substance, set on fire. The procedure is performed late in the evening, when all the members of the family are assembled, they are going to spend the night, or in the early morning, when they have not yet had time to scatter.

When placing a hive under the roof of a house, in an attic, a tree, the nest is immersed in water. They fill the bucket, bring it neatly to the hornet's nest, immerse it in water. Another modern way- use of a vacuum cleaner. Insects are pulled at full power into the bag, then thrown into the water.

In order to prevent the construction of nests, scaring plants are planted on the land - mint, lemon balm, marigolds, calendula. Walls are treated with paint, varnish, mortar boric acid.

What do wasps make their nests out of? Completed by a student of the 7th grade of the GBOU secondary school No. 377 of the Kirov district Chizh Svetlana Head Stepanova E.A.

In the summer, I found a hornet's nest right in my apartment ... The wasps made it on a thick curtain, in a secluded, dark corner. The nest was very small, it was not even a nest, but an egg clutch, around which the nest itself was formed. The nest looks like ordinary paper! I had questions: What is a hornet's nest, how wasps make it. Why did the wasp first lay eggs, and only then began to build the walls of the nest? Where in nature can an insect take paper if it is artificial material? What advantage does the design of the nest give to the wasp, in which the entrance is from below?

The purpose of my work: To study the structure of the wasp nest, and find out if wasps are useful Tasks: 1) study the literature and find out which species of wasps make nests 2) find out what material the wasps build their nests from 3) why the nests differ in color 4) find out Is there any benefit from a hornet's nest?

At the first stage, a survey of people was conducted in order to find out their attitude towards wasps. On the question of the benefits or harms of OS, opinions differed.

The second stage: there are about 20 thousand species of wasps in nature, but paper (or public) wasps build such a nest

What material does a wasp make a nest out of? The wasp separates small pieces of wood with its jaws, rubs them thoroughly with saliva, and then thin layer puts on the nest. The resulting dried mass is similar to rough wrapping paper. You can even write on it.

The third stage: study of the structure of the wasp nest The surface of the nest was gray, had brown, white, green stripes.

Studying the properties of a hornet's nest: 1) Having sprinkled the nest with water, I found that the water rolled down in drops over it 2) I put the pieces of the nest into the water, they did not immediately, but got wet, floated on the surface of the water. 3) Having dipped the pieces in a solution of hydrochloric acid, I found that nothing happened to them either.

Fourth stage: Study of the structure of the nest Having cut the paper layers, I found there cells of the correct hexagonal shape. The cells are arranged horizontally. The entrance to the nest from below is located for the convenience of entering it. The first row of cells is attached to the surface, then the second tier is suspended from it, and so on as the family grows. It turns out a multi-storey "house".

Why are nests needed? Wasps hatch their larvae in their nests. Wasp larvae feed: caterpillars and other insects, chew them thoroughly. To feed all the larvae, you need to cook a large number of stocks, therefore they will destroy a huge number of harmful insects.

Conclusions: Nests are built by paper wasps The nest of wasps is made of a paper-like substance The nest has a very complex structure, the color of the nest depends on the building material that the wasps collected. Wasps are food for birds. Destroying wasps means violating the environment, because in our gardens and vegetable gardens there will be more harmful insects that eat crops, and birds will not have enough food to feed their chicks.

• Aerodrome - a device used by beekeepers while shaking out bees. Helps bees enter the hive from the ground
• Bribe - the amount of honey brought by bees in 1 day
• Voshchina - a thin plate of wax inserted into the frame by the beekeeper in order to make it easier for the bees to build honeycombs. "Foundation" of the future sushi
• Smoker - a device used to pacify bees with smoke
• Zabrus - honey mixed with wax caps of honeycombs to be further processed
• Winter club - the state of the bee colony during winter, when the bees do not sleep, but are in a less mobile state, clinging to each other, keeping vitality and warm.
• A deck (it’s also a board) is a beehive used in ancient times to keep bees. It is a hollow tree trunk
• Shop - the body of the hive, which is placed on top. The bees fill it exclusively with honey.
• Honey extractor - a device for pumping honey. Thanks to centrifugal force, honey is pumped out of the honeycomb
• Honey collection - the period of honey collection by bees. There is a main, supporting, etc. The main one - when the bees bring the most bribe (honey)
• Spray - nectar that bees put in honeycombs, fermented and dried to turn it into honey
• Nucleus - a small hive that serves to contain a certain number of bees and a young queen until it is fertilized. It is used in the reproduction of families and in breeding
• Obnozhka - a collection of pollen collected by a bee on its hind legs
• Signet - a way of covering honeycombs with bees. Differs from different breeds, is wet and dry, depending on whether the honey touches the wax caps or not.
• PZHVM - a waste product of the wax moth
• A bee colony is a structural unit of a bee society. honey bees live only in families. The family includes worker bees, drones and only one queen.
• Pollen is a collection of pollen grains from seed plants.
• Pollen collector (pollen trap) - a device for collecting pollen from honey bees
• The buildup is jarg. The period of pumping honey from the frames by the beekeeper
• Printout - removal of wax caps from cells of combs for the removal of honey in centrifuges-honey extractors
• Brood - eggs, open or wax capped larvae of worker bees and drones
• PP - dividing grid, serves to limit the movement of the uterus in cases and magazines
• Dryness - a frame with lined honeycombs. The name comes from the fact that the frames, after pumping honey, are usually dried indoors.
• A drone is a male insect whose vital task is to fertilize a young uterus.
• SCM - silent queen change - the natural replacement of the old queen with a new one by bees, occurring without swarming,
• Street - the distance between 2 frames. The concept is used when buying and selling frame bee packages or hives, when they indicate how many streets are occupied by bees. The frames in the package are always 1 less than the streets

The family "paper wasps" (another name is "public") includes two subfamilies: "polistins" and "vespins". The Vespina subfamily also includes hornets, one of the largest representatives of these insects.

Paper wasps are widespread throughout the world, but most members of this family live in South-East Asia and America. Science knows more than 1000 species of paper wasps, 30 of them live in Russia.

These insects have a complex language of communication and live in colonies, where each individual has a specific role - protecting the territory, obtaining food and feeding the larvae, building and repairing the nest. Adult insects feed mainly on plant foods, while larvae are fed on animals.

Such a division of diets allows insects to avoid food competition between adults and the younger generation even in conditions of shortage of any type of food, thereby excluding the likelihood of death of both from starvation.

Strict hierarchy and separation in feeding are signs of highly developed insects. Such features, acquired in the course of evolution, allow a large swarm of wasps to act harmoniously, as a single organism, and survive in a variety of conditions.

nest material

A wasp nest most often looks like a gray paper ball or cone. Actually, thanks to this appearance of their home, these wasps were called "paper".

The ability to work together is not the only feature that allows wasps to build such unusual nests. As a building material, insects use paper, which they themselves make.

To obtain this paper, adult workers grind wood fibers into powder with powerful jaws. Usually for this they choose an old dried tree. Wasps are so proficient in the technology of paper production that they are able to make 5 of its variants - from the thinnest parchment to thick cardboard.

Start of construction

A wasp nest begins to be built by a female, and sometimes several females, who unite for the duration of construction. Waking up from hibernation in early spring, they find a suitable place, protected from the wind and prying eyes. Most often, the choice falls on a branch of a tree, but often females choose abandoned buildings or little-visited attics of residential buildings. It happens that a tree hollow, a rotten stump, a space behind the skin of a human dwelling, or even a hole of some rodent becomes a home for the future generation.

The basis of the future nest is a thin stalk of the female's saliva frozen in the air. Subsequently, it often remains a clearly visible "leg" on which a paper ball hangs. This stalk firmly attaches the nest to the surface that the female has chosen for fastening the future home. To this stalk, the insect attaches the first 2 cells of wax - a start has been made.

nest growth

After making the base of the nest, the female flies in search of building material. Finding suitable wood, she releases a drop of saliva on it, from which the wood fibers soften. The wasp scrapes the pliable wood using its powerful jaws, and with its front paws rolls a small lump out of it. Moving along the wood surface like a precise mechanism, the wasp leaves behind a well-marked trace.

The resulting lumps are carried by the female to the construction site. There, she chews the wood again, mixing it with saliva and secretions from special glands. From the material, which becomes quite soft, the wasp makes a paper plate, carefully and evenly kneading the parchment lump with its front paws. The wasp attaches the resulting piece of paper to the base of the nest and flies for a new portion of the material.

Building a frame, the female at the same time lays eggs and feeds the growing larvae. Mature new wasps join the construction. As soon as the female manages to grow 10 new wasps, she stops building and from that time on she only lays eggs, then her children build a nest.

Internal and external device

The most durable part of the wasp nest is the inner one, where the honeycombs with larvae and the uterus are located. Wasps make it from dense sheets of parchment with the addition of whole wood chips, which greatly increases the reliability of the entire building. The outer shell, on the other hand, is made of especially thin and elastic paper plates, which are easier to roll into long strips.

Gradually, the wasp's nest acquires a spherical shape with a single inlet at the bottom. From this moment on, the wasps begin to expand their home, building new walls over the existing frame. Inside the paper ball becomes more spacious. Often, insects use parts of the inner layers to build the outer skin.

Wasps not only process all parts of their nesting sites in different ways, but also often use wood of different quality for the construction of external and internal layers. For example, on outer skin insects can take wood from the old wooden fence, and for internal departments - young branches of a living tree.

The paper wasp is a hardworking and diligent builder, able to work at a very fast pace. During the summer months, the wasps manage to re-cover their nest more than 5 times, significantly increasing its size. Under favorable circumstances, in unusual house 1 swarm of paper wasps manages to grow about 4 thousand new insects during the summer months.

Young wasps fly away from the parental home, forming new colonies in other habitable places. And only working individuals remain in the old nest, which, before the onset of cold weather, take care of the uterus and repair the hive as necessary.