Adult wasp hatching. Surface of the nest of the wasp Polistes sp., showing an adult hatching. Cells or chambers of the nest are seen. A newly formed a

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Adult wasp hatching. Surface of the nest of the wasp Polistes sp., showing an adult hatching. Cells or chambers of the nest are seen. A newly formed adult has bitten its way through the lid of one of the cells, and its yellow and black head and body are emerging. The queen of the nest builds these hexagonal cells from chewed-up dry plant material mixed with her saliva. After laying her eggs she feeds the hatched larvae on meat; fully formed larvae close each cell and spin a silk cocoon. Four to six weeks after the egg is laid the larva pupates to produce this infertile adult female worker.

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Size: 5079px × 3538px
Photo credit: © CLAUDE NURIDSANY & MARIE PERENNOU/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: adult, animal, hatching, insect, insecta, invertebrate, invertebrates, nature, nest, polistes, sp., type, wasp, wildlife, zoology