Paper Wasp Nest Construction

This photo shows a paper wasp nest that has been torn open, most likely by some animal looking to eat the larvae and wasps inside. One of the most interesting things about this particular view, esssentially a cross section of the nest, is that it shows the multiple layers of construction with air spaces in between each layer. This is a very effective mean of insulation to help keep heat in the central region of the nest. Heat would be generated their by the metabolic activity of the wasps and would keep the center and especially the queen, from freezing during the cold New England winters. While I can't tell who made this nest, it was certainly a wasp of some type. Remember all hornets are wasps, but not all wasps are hornets. While we don't know the exact species, we do know how wasps make nests like this one. It is made out of paper, but the wasps also make the paper itself. They chew bits of wood and mix it with saliva to form a pulp which dries to the papery material you see here. Wasps often build their nests in old sheds or near human houses because there is often wood readyily found near the homes of people. While these types of nests are often build under the shelter of a shed roof or eaves, they can also be built on a tree branch or in a shrub. Some species, notably yellow-jackets, build them in the ground accessed by a small hole in the ground that leads down to the nest. Wasps, then, are capable of making wood-pulp paper and applying it bit by bit to around the edges to form a large pattern that eventually turns into an enclosed, multi-layer ball- shaped hive- almost as if it were being 3D printed.