Two Paper Wasps - tend cells on their comb'-like
Two Paper Wasps - tend cells on their comb'-like nest. The wasps build a single vertical comb from wood pulp mixed with saliva, and hang it from a stalk. (Ropaldia revolutionalis). Common in tropical and eastern Australia, one species to Victoria. This can be up to 20cm in length and usually has a double row of adjacent cells, each containing a single egg. The larva is fed on chewed-up caterpillars and the cell is sealed when the larva is ready to pupate. Small numbers of combs are built adjacent to one another as the colony expands, and they are usually placed low among the leaves of shrubs, or under the eaves of houses. / Body length to 12mm; one comb has up to 50 cells
Picture No
10879820
Media ID
42961627
Size
5262px x 3508px
(1.6MB)
Credit
© Eric Lindgren / www.ardea.com
Category
NA
Ardea Picture Library
Picture No
10879820
Contributor Ref
EL-1943






























