Wasp pupation. Cut through cell in the nest of the wasp Polistes sp., showing a newly developing adult. Its head has black eyes and antennae, and its

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Wasp pupation. Cut through cell in the nest of the wasp Polistes sp., showing a newly developing adult. Its head has black eyes and antennae, and its soft body has walking legs. When metamorphosis is complete the adult is coloured yellow and black. It will bite its way out of this cell chamber. The queen of the nest builds these hexagonal cells from chewed-up dry plant material mixed with 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 form this infertile adult female worker.

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Size: 2480px × 3746px
Photo credit: © CLAUDE NURIDSANY & MARIE PERENNOU/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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