Wasp Ready For Takeoff...
Mr. Patterson has run into a few of these bugs over the years. Fortunately, he saw most of them first. This one was ready for attack.
The queen starts the nest in the spring, building a few cells, and laying an egg in each cell. If all goes well (for the wasp), the eggs will hatch into little larvae. The queen seals the larvae in the cells, then they pass through the pupal stage, eventually emerging from the cells as adults.
This as a queen paper wasp. I took this photo in my shed on about 6/1/02.
ronaldpatterson@windstream.net