Babies are cute. But does the same hold true for baby wasps? There are so many questions when it comes to baby wasps – are they fearsome as adult wasps? Do they sting humans? What do baby wasps look like?
You’ve ended up on the right page if you’re looking for the answers to these questions. In fact, I’ll do you one better! I have answered not only these questions but also quite a few more about what you should know about baby wasps! So, keep reading to find out!
Table of Contents
What are baby wasps – a complete guide to the young wasp, wasp larvae, and wasp pupae!
Baby wasps are the immature stages of adult wasps. They go through a process of metamorphosis where they change from their larval stage to their pupal stage and finally to their adult stage.
There are different types of baby wasps, including the egg, the larvae, and the pupae.
Though baby wasps are very small and inactive during the majority of their development, they are important in the life cycle of a wasp colony. They will eventually grow into adult wasps and continue the life cycle of the colony.
What do baby wasps look like?
Here are the four main identifying factors for a baby wasp!
Color
The body of a baby wasp is typically black and yellow. This makes them easy to identify, especially if you are looking for young adult wasps.
Size
In general, baby wasps are about 0.2 to 1.5 inches long, but the length of a baby wasp can vary depending on the species of wasp. They shouldn’t grow beyond 1.7 inches in length.
Shape
One way is to check the shape of their body. Different species have different shapes, including a narrow waist, short and cone-shaped abdomen with a sharp tapered end, a spindle-shaped waist and long legs, or hairless and smooth bodies.
Movement
Another method is checking for movement; if they are moving around quickly, they are probably baby wasps.
If you can’t pay attention to these factors, then simply remember that when baby wasps are first born, they look like inactive lumps.
This is because they are still developing into adult wasps. Baby wasps will eventually grow wings and hunt for food on their own.
What do you need to know about wasps hatching before their pupae stage?
The queen wasp lays a single egg in each cell. The wasp egg hatches and the larva feeds on the provisions that the queen has deposited. The larva will then spin a silken cocoon around itself, pupate, and transform into an adult wasp.
More specifically, once the larva pupates, it will take another 5-8 days before it becomes an adult bee.
During this time, the baby wasp is inactive and will not eat. It is at great risk of being eaten by predators or succumbing to environmental stressors.
The queen wasp is responsible for gathering food for the young. She will gather sugary substances as well as catch other insects to provide protein for the larvae.
This process of development usually takes a few weeks, and during this time, the queen will not lay any eggs.
After five molts, the larva will spin a silken cap over the cell and pupate into an adult bee. During this process, it will shed its skin (molting) 5 times. This transformation from larvae to pupae usually takes around 15 days.
How long does it generally take a wasp’s larvae to hatch?
The queen wasp will mate and then relocate to a new place where she will start a new nest. The eggs that she lays will hatch into larvae, and the larvae will grow into pupae.
These eggs generally take about two weeks for the larvae to hatch and another two weeks for them to become pupae.
Interestingly, queen wasps will build a new nest or shelter before they hibernate. This new nest is typically made of small cells that are just like a honeycomb. Once the queen has built the new nest, she will deposit her eggs and then hibernate until the eggs hatch.
Since the wasp can lay up to 150 eggs per day, it will hatch within a few days. The baby wasps will then go through three stages of development- larvae, pupae, and finally, adults.
Normally, within two to three days, all the eggs will hatch into larvae. This process usually depends on the amount of warmth that is maintained in the wasps’ nest chambers or cells.
The larvae will hatch within 10 to 20 days and be fed by wasp workers, who are mainly female, or the queen wasp. The larvae will then pupate and become adult wasps.
Can a baby worker wasp sting?
No, baby worker wasps cannot sting. In fact, no baby wasp species have the ability to sting. Before the wasp turns into a fully mature adult, it does not develop stingers at all. Therefore, the beginning three stages of their lives are spent developing their bodies.
As larvae, baby wasps typically stay confined to their wasp nests. Even their pupae stage is one where they stay entirely dormant. The time that they actually start moving is when they hatch out of the pupae as young adults.
But even so, these bugs still don’t develop sting tissues. It is only after a few days after hatching out of the pupa that the wasp grows and develops its stinging organ!
Are baby wasps significant for fig trees?
The life cycle of a baby wasp is important for fig trees because the wasps help to pollinate the fig tree, but not when they are baby wasps.
While it is true that adult wasps are quite necessary for the pollination and growth of a fig tree, baby wasps simply do not have the capability to pollinate these fruits!
The way wasps are significant for the growth and pollination of fig trees is that these bugs share a mutually beneficial relationship with the tree. They not only derive food from the fruit of the tree but also help in pollinating it.
Many a time, wasps also end up dying inside figs, where they decompose into proteins that are essential to the growth of the tree. However, when they die, they also attract adult wasp colonies which then enter the fruit, causing it to explode.
How can you get rid of or kill baby wasps?
Even though wasps don’t generally sting people, it is best to get rid of these bugs as and when you see them. Here are some methods and ways by which you can kill or get rid of baby wasps.
Eliminate the wasp nest.
The best way to kill baby wasps is to simply eliminate the wasp nest in the first place. To do this, you must be certain to make use of a long stick or broom and simply dislocate the wasp nest from wherever it is located. Once you’ve done that, destroy the nest using a hammer.
However, bear in mind that this is only a good method if you can destroy the nest without killing any adult wasps. Adult wasps, when they die, secrete a hormone that invites other wasps to defend themselves.
You certainly don’t want to get stung by wasps that are looking for vengeance. Therefore, also ensure you’re wearing proper protective gear before you mess with a wasp nest!
Suffocate the baby wasps inside the nest.
Wearing protective gear, simply cover the wasp nest with a plastic sealable bag and leave it like that for a few days.
If you want to kill the adult wasps, too, you should only use this method at night when the colony of wasps is sleeping in the nest.
Spray the nest with insecticides.
Another great option for killing baby wasps and wasp colonies, in general, is to simply rely on a quality insecticidal spray. Spray the pesticide at the opening of the wasp nest at night.
The wasps should be dead by the following morning, but you should repeat the process a couple of times just to be safe!
Get in touch with a professional exterminator.
If you have been unable to kill baby wasps and wasp colonies using the three methods mentioned above, your best bet would then be to get in touch with a professional exterminator.
This is the best option because exterminators are well trained in doing this kind of work without getting stung. Further, they have the best tools and chemicals to tackle wasps!
When and how does a young female wasp become a queen wasp in her own nest?
The baby female wasp will become a queen wasp in her own nest when she is about a quarter of an inch longer or bigger than the worker wasps and is raised in a different part of the nest. She will lay eggs and continue to build the nest until it can support her colony.
The size difference between queens and workers is the norm for most advanced social insects, including ants and honeybees. In female baby wasps, this size difference is determined by the amount of food they are given as larvae.
If a queen-sized diet is given to a worker-sized larva, that larva will grow into a queen. Conversely, if a worker-sized diet is given to a queen-sized larva, that larva will grow into a worker.
In most cases, the queen wasp is the only individual in a colony that can lay eggs. The queen wasp is also the only wasp that can produce offspring that will become workers. For this reason, it is important for her to be able to survive and reproduce.
In some cases, however, there may be more than one queen wasp in a colony. This happens when there is more than one reproductive female in a nest.
There is much debate surrounding how female baby wasps become queen wasps in their own nests.
Paper wasp workers are born with their reproductive genes switched off, whereas queens are born with their genes turned on, which has long been considered a convenient means to determine a paper wasp’s social standing.
New research has shown that this may not be the case and that it is possible for worker wasps to become queens even if they are born with their reproductive genes turned on.
To sum it up, when a baby female wasp becomes a queen wasp, it is usually due to environmental factors that trigger specific genes.
In a study by researchers at the University of Lausanne, they looked at how expression levels of certain genes related to reproductive states in wasps.
They found that the genes for reproducing were expressed at higher levels in worker wasps than in queens, while those related to a delay in fertility showed up more in queens than workers.
Are predator or worker wasps better pollinators than bees?
There is a recent trend of using predator wasps as pollinators in place of bees. This is due to the fact that predator wasps are more efficient at pollination and can travel farther distances.
They are also less susceptible to pests and diseases, making them a more reliable option for some plant systems and environments.
Though they have a better reputation than bees, predator wasps are not always better pollinators. In fact, some species of wasps are actually worse at pollinating than bees.
Therefore, ultimately the answer to this question boils down to what type of flower or plant you wish to pollinate!
Conclusion
The fact is that baby wasps are harmless creatures. But, they are only harmless till they grow up into fully adult wasps.
Once they do so, they can pose a threat to you, especially if they feel like you pose a threat to them, their nest, or their colony. Therefore, getting rid of these bugs as expediently possible is the best course of action to choose!
FAQs
When do wasps come out in the year?
Wasps have a 12-month calendar year that begins in the spring. Hibernating during much of winter, queen wasps emerge to mate when the weather gets warmer. It is at this time of year that queens begin searching for a suitable location to build their new nests.
How do wasps reproduce?
The queen deposits her final eggs as her brood grows in size. These eggs produce both male and female wasps. When the male wasps leave the nest, they mate, and then they die. After mating, the female wasps hibernate with the sperms they collected so they can lay another nest the next summer.
How far does a wasp fly to find food?
A kilometer or more distant from the nest entrance is not uncommon for foraging visits by the workers, who generally stay within a few hundred meters of the entrance.
