Template:POTD/2009-05-16

Picture of the day

A young paper wasp queen (Polistes dominula) is founding a new colony. The nest was made with wood fibers and saliva, and the eggs were laid and fertilized with sperm kept from the previous year. The timespan between the first and last photos is about one month.

1. The nest with only a few cells.
2. New cells being made
3. A caterpillar was caught and is being chewed to feed the larvae.
4. Feeding the larvae.
5. Using the wings to cool down the larvae.
6. The wasp guarding her heirs.

Photo credit: Joaquim Alves Gaspar