This is how the insects overwinter

Immense mobilization of forces for species conservation

Wasps, especially the colonizing species, go to great lengths to secure their species from year to year. The cycle can be broken down into the following stages:

• Nest established by the queen
• Raising huge numbers of workers
• Raising sex animals
• Wedding flight and mating
• Wintering of the young queens

Spring - founding of the state and setting up an army of women workers

First, a wasp queen founds a new state in the spring and lays eggs in the first brood chambers. By the summer, huge numbers of individuals have to be raised who devote their entire existence to preparing for the autumn mating season. This is how the wasps produce over one generation of workers after another in spring.

Late summer - emergence of the sex animals

From August onwards, the sex animals that are important for actual reproduction are reared - i.e. drones and new young queens. During this time, the workers have so much care work to do that they develop an enormous appetite and feel disregarded for themselves Loss losses on everything sweet they can get - as most of us have probably already experienced, on our ice cream scoops or Danish pastries Garden table.

Autumn - peak and reproduction

In autumn the so-called wedding flight takes place - drones and young queens leave the nest in order to mate with other sex animals outside across states. Once this is done, the entire team that has worked towards this most important step in the annual cycle goes into action. Before they die, the animals do their last jobs in the nest and clean it from weak or malformed larvae. Then they have finally fulfilled their should and are no longer needed.

winter

The only wasps that do not die towards winter are the fertilized young queens. You are what all prep work has been put into. In order for a young queen to survive the cold spell without food, she looks for a sheltered place that is safe from strong temperature fluctuations: for example, a niche below Tree bark, a rotted stump, or a compost heap. There she crawls into a huddled position: she crosses her wings under her body and puts her legs tightly at the sides. Some field wasps also overwinter in groups.

In order not to freeze to death, your body forms the sugar alcohol glycerol (which, by the way, is also used in antifreeze) and allows the wasp to withstand temperatures of down to -20 ° C. Against starvation, your organism goes down to an economy mode: breathing and heartbeat slow down considerably so that only a minimum of energy is consumed.

Despite these precautions, not all young queens make it through the winter. They can be attacked by mold or be preyed on by rodents or birds.