Photographs

Wasp nest (Ropalidia marginata, Order Hymenoptera)

Flora & Fauna

Ropalidia marginata is a species of paper wasp. The name "paper wasps" typically refers to members of the vespid subfamily that make nests out of paper. Ropalidia marginata is primitively eusocial.. The species employees a variety of colony founding strategies, sometimes with single founders and sometimes in groups of variable number. The queen does not use physical dominance to control workers; there is evidence of pheromones being used to suppress other female workers from overtaking queenship. The nests of most true paper wasps are characterized by having open combs with cells for brood rearing, and a ‘petiole', or constricted stalk that attaches the nest to a branch or other structure. Paper wasps secrete a chemical which repels ants, which they spread around the base of the anchor to prevent the loss of eggs or brood. Nests can be found in sheltered areas, such as the eaves of a house, the branches of a tree, on the end of an open pipe, or on an old clothesline.