2 replies to this topic

[IdioticMouse26]

Hello, everyone! I've aquired a paper wasp colony with a queen (they were going to be removed by my downstair neighbor, so I stepped in). I'm planning to keep the colony outside, allowing them to freely forage. My mom was surprisingly cool about me keeping wasps, and gave me permission right away. 

This is how the setup looks like: (sorry for the horizontal pictures)

 

The spot with a cut-out cardboard and bunch of tapes is where the entrance/exit will be. 

 

 

Isn't she a beauty? It was hard to get a picture of her, she's camera-shy.

 

This is my first time keeping wasps so hopefully things will go smoothly. Any tips/feedbacks are welcome! Also, I'm not sure what to name her, so name suggestions are also welcome! I'm excited to see where this endavour will take me. 

 

 

[NorthernTrav]

She looks beautiful! Good luck with her

Honestly I don't think I'll ever be comfortable that close to a wasp lol

[IdioticMouse26]

Sad news, she abandoned her nest when I put here outside...

I suppose I should have expected it.

The strange thing is it's been days since the queen abandoned her nest, but the larvae are still alive and healthy(I think). Some of them are even building cocoons! I left them outside incase the queen might be coming back and taking care of the brood.

 

Anyway....I got another nest with a queen! There are TONS of wasps nest where I live and my downstairs neighbor is basically waging war against them so I guess I'm "saving" them. 

This queen's nest is bigger and this time, I'm going to keep her inside until the first few workers arrive. 

My thought is that if there are workers, the queen wouldn't go out to forage as much and hopefully she recognizes the nest as her home.

 

 

Edited by IdioticMouse26, May 29 2025 - 5:27 PM.