Inside the nest

Just what you don't want!  A wasps nest in your garden!

But what an interesting life cycle...... 

One part of the cycle involves the queen building a honeycomb-like structure out of wood fibre, which is chewed and glued together with wasp saliva.  The queen lays a single egg in each in each cell.  The egg hatches into a larva in 5 - 8 days and is fed by the queen.  The larva spins a silken cap over the cell where it pupates, then an adult worker wasp emerges.  It takes approximately 28 - 48 days from egg to adult, depending on environmental conditions.