Britannica
Sources used in this answer
How do paper wasps and yellow jackets make paperlike nests?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Hymenoptera
An endangered rusty patched bumblebee (Bombus affinis) browsing on a wild bergamot flower.
Paper wasps and yellow jackets, both members of the family Vespidae, construct their nests using a unique paperlike material. The process involves the following steps:
- Gathering Materials: Female wasps gnaw wood particles from various sources, such as dead trees, fence posts, telephone poles, or unpainted building lumber.12
- Creating the Paste: The collected wood fibers are chewed and mixed with saliva to form a small, kneadable ball.12
- Construction: Upon returning to the nest, the wasps roll these balls into layers of paper-thin cell walls.2
Yellow jackets (genera Vespula and Dolichovespula) further refine this process by building the outer nest covering in multiple layers. The air trapped between these layers serves as insulation, which helps the colony regulate the interior temperature of the nest.2