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Wasp Larvae: The Tweens of Insects

December 6th, 2009 Posted in Stinging Insects

When your son or daughter asks where babies come from, you probably get tongue tied. Well, what about where wasps come from? Wasps invade your home and make your summer activities a constant battle to protect your food. But where do these wasps come from?

If you know where they come from and what they look like when they’re young, you can more easily get rid of them.

Read on to find out more about:

• The Queen Mother
• Here’s Lookin’ At You, Larvae
• A Larva Eat Larva World
• Getting Rid Of Wasps

The Queen Mother

As with most animals, the wasp life cycle begins with a mother. A queen mother, to be exact. The queen wasp of a nest is far from a lazy, pampered royal. She begins her duties in early spring after emerging from hibernation. She starts by scouting a location and beginning the construction of the nest.

She scrapes wood from trees and your deck furniture to make a pulpy substance to construct the nest (destructive tendency number 1). She then makes combs into a hexagonal “nursery,” where the eggs are laid.

Then more cells are constructed and eggs laid behind each one. At this point, the queen is in charge and is the only one doing the work. But that changes when the eggs hatch.

Here’s Lookin’ At You, Larvae

These eggs take six weeks to hatch. Once they do, they become sterile female larvae. Wasp larvae are sort of the “tweens” of the wasp set.

These larvae are not girls, but not yet women (sing it, Britney). The eggs the queen first laid will turn into wasp larvae that will eventually become sterile female workers. The workers help to construct the rest of the nest and bring food back to the nest.

The queen is then free to concentrate on laying more eggs while the new female workers construct the nest. Larvae look kind of like little caterpillars. They vary in different types of wasps, but many look like little yellow caterpillars. If you see wasp larvae, kill them! They will soon become wasps that will construct a nest on the side of your house.

A Larva Eat Larva World

It seems that being wasp larvae is harder than being a contestant on America’s Next Top Model. The sterile female wasp larvae develop faster than the males. They become tube like and have the ability to chomp away…at the male larvae.

The females are genetically closer than the males, so they protect each other while going after their defenseless little brothers. Talk about a family feud! Why do the female larvae eat the male larvae? Because resources are limited. The nest can only support about half of these larvae when they become adult wasps.

The females are just being smart and thinking ahead. They want to live, so they eat their wasp larvae brothers. This is a strange genetic happening that researchers have only observed in the last few years and requires more study to fully understand.

Getting Rid Of Wasps

Information about wasps is great, but it doesn’t help you get rid of a nest. If you’re fretting over a wasp nest, find an insecticide to kill its constructors. There are specific insecticides designed to kill wasps so that you can take the nest down and throw it out.

EcoSMART Wasp and Hornet Killer is completely natural. It’s made from plant extracts known to repel insects, like cinnamon and peppermint. So you can kill larvae with the best natural and organic spray that is safe for the environment, your kids, and your pets!