Wasp nest removal in Maidstone

The Life Cycle Of A Wasp

The Wasp Life Cycle

When we carry out wasp nest treatments we are often asked about the life cycle of a wasp. To help you understand what occurs I have written a short blog. The wasp life cycle has a few key stages which I aim to explain in more detail:

  • The Queen Wasp
  • Her Offspring Emerging
  • The Larvae Hatching
  • The Wasps Mature and Leave the Nest

The Queen Wasp

A single-mated queen emerges from hibernation in the early spring. She establishes her nesting site in a cavity. As she builds her nest the cells are constructed, and she lays an egg in each one. At this stage the wasp nest is the size of a golf ball.

A queen wasp. Wasp nest removal in Maidstone.
A queen wasp found in a loft.

Her Offspring Emerge

After about 30 days of the queen looking after her young, her first offspring of workers emerge as adults. They are all female at this point. The workers take over the foraging, brood care and nest building and maintenance duties. The queen then stays in the nest and her job is to lay eggs to build the colony.

The Larvae Hatch

After a few days, the larvae will hatch from the newest eggs. The adult workers bring insects back to the nest to feed to the hungry larvae, which offer a sugary food supply to the workers, via a process called trophallaxis. The larvae grow over a couple of weeks before they spin their pupal cap and pupate.

Female workers wasps entering the wasp nest.
Female worker wasps entering the nest.

The Colony Grows

Over the summer months, the colony will grow, with thousands of wasps, depending on the species. Once the colony is big enough, the queen will switch to laying a sexual brood: these are males and the sexual females capable of becoming next year’s queens.

 

Wasp nest found in a loft in Maidstone.
Wasp nest towards the end of the summer.

Wasps Mature And Leave The Nest

When the sexual brood matures, they leave the colony to mate. They find somewhere to hibernate over the winter such as a loft space or warm area. After this stage, the nest has done its job. The workers are still alive with no brood to feed them. This is when they start to bother you.

A hibernating queen wasp in a loft overwintering.
An overwintering queen in a loft. Note the wings tucked under the legs.

What Happens If You Leave A Wasp Nest

If you leave a wasp nest it can become home to many other pests. The wasp nest is made up of wood pulp so therefore any type of textile pest would be able to survive inside. We have dealt with carpet beetle infestations in the past in a loft space. When we opened it up the nest was loaded with the cases of wooly bears (carpet beetle larvae).

Carpet beetle larvae in a wasp nest | pest control in Medway
A customer was plagued with a carpet beetle for years and they were breeding in a wasp nest.

Wasp Nest Removal In Maidstone

To discover more about wasps and understand how to get rid of a wasp nest, call our professional team at 01622 296055. We carry out wasp nest removals and treatments to all homes and businesses in Maidstone and Kent. Stay safe and use a professional pest controller like Pest-Tech.