A Little Bit More
For many people, Yellowjackets are a “normal” part of summer. Populations of these wasps increase all summer long and by late summer, their numbers are large enough to be a real nuisance. Colonies can reach several thousand individuals by summer’s end and their food searching expands appropriately. Picnic areas are especially attractive with their routine mountains of food and Yellowjackets soon visit these areas regularly.
In early spring, only queens have survived the winter, and they soon begin setting about establishing a nest. Most Yellowjackets locate their nest in cavities in the ground – a rodent burrow serves their purpose just fine. Once a nest location has been established, the queen begins laying eggs within a small, paper nest. The first young are cared for by the queen but once these are adult workers (all are female) they tend subsequent young and the queen becomes just an egg-laying “machine”.
As the workers forage for food for the young, they capture many caterpillars and harmful flies and this makes them important predators. Captured insects, and even your picnic goodies, are chewed up and fed to the larvae in the nest. By the end of the season, males are produced – remember only females were produced initially - and these mate with newly adult queens. As cold weather arrives, the nest falls into disuse and the males and workers all die. Fertile queens, however find locations for overwintering and will carry on the species the following spring by starting new colonies.
Activities
Science – Homemade Paper
Objectives: A better understanding of what paper is made of
Materials: See website for materials and instruction
Yellowjackets are a kind of wasp and make a nest that is very similar to the paper wasps that are often found under the eaves of a home. These insects chew up wood and then form it into a paper nest in their underground site for their young. In fact, wasps are considered to be one of the very first creatures to actually make paper.
Making paper isn’t difficult and can be quite fun and educational so I’ve found an online source for instructions you can use with your students. Of course, you’re not going to go to the source (actual wood) to begin this process so be sure to share with students that wood, not old paper products, is the source of most of the paper you see and use in home and office.
Homemade paper instructions
Homemade paper
Key Concepts
Life Cycles, Identification, Food Webs /Food Pyramids, Behavior and Regulation
Questions
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