When the days become cooler and shorter in autumn, most wasps die. Only the young queens survive the winter - a dangerous undertaking for the fertilized females, which not all of them survive.
How do wasps overwinter?
Wasps overwinter as fertilized young queens by seeking shelter, changing their posture to a resting position, and shutting down their body functions to conserve energy. Most of the other members of the colony die in the fall.
Wasps in the New Year
In autumn, a wasp colony has to complete the most important task of the season: reproduction. When drones and young queens are raised, they fly out on the so-called nuptial flight in order to mate with other sexual animals across countries. Afterwards, most of the members of the colony have fulfilled their purpose of existence - drones and workers die after the final clean-up work in the nest. Only the fertilized young queens survive.
You have a responsible role to play in saving the species over the winter. Since wasps are not designed for cold temperatures, overwintering is only possible with a few special survival strategies:
- Look for shelter that is as temperature-resistant as possible
- Assume a resting position
- Shut down body functions
The Shelter
The quarters to which the young wasp queen retreats in winter must be shielded as much as possible, with little visibility and protected from wind, precipitation and major temperature fluctuations. The wasps find such conditions, for example, under slightly protruding pieces of tree bark, in rotten branches or in compost heaps.
However, these places do not offer any guarantee of protection. So much moisture can accumulate, especially in wood, that mold forms, which also attacks the wasp's body. In addition, the queens can also be found as easy prey by animals such as rodents and birds. In short: the chance of survival is not necessarily high.
Rest position
In its winter quarters, the wasp adopts a special resting position: it folds its legs under its body and folds its wings close to its sides.
Energy saving
So that she can survive the cold months without food, she also shuts down her entire organism to the low burner level. Heart rate and breathing slow considerably.
