What Happens To Wasps In The Winter?

Wasps and winter do not get along. Depending on the country you live in, there could be snow or chilly winds or ice everywhere. Even pouring rains can make things hard for flying insects to lead an active life. But where do wasps go in winter? Are they snuggled into each other inside their nest, or are they dreaming about springs like the rest of us do in winters? Or are they dead? In this article, we are going to discuss what happens to wasps in the winter? 

Wasps In Winter

The motto of wasps is not the survival of those who are fit in their clan. It is to make sure that the queen lives. All the members of the wasp’s colony take proper measures and do whatever it takes to keep the queen alive so it can lay eggs when warm weather arrives. The situation for the rest of the wasps is not good in the winter. 

Male wasps exist to impregnate the queen wasp, and the fertile females are charged to keep an eye on the colony. Some male wasp workers are killed because of the cold weather, and many starve to death because of poor diet. Infertile female wasps also die in cold weather. However, the queen wasp starts to search for warm places to hide out and goes into a semi-dormant state till the winter is gone. When the warm weather arrives, she searches for a place where she can lay her eggs. 

Long Live the Queen

If you find a solo wasp inside your house in winter, it may likely be a wasp queen. They often sneak inside houses through any crack or window to find somewhere where they can bed down quietly. Even in corners of your heavy drapes can become a perfect hideout for them. The queen needs a place to rest till the winter is over. It could be any place in your house because the future of the colony goes with her. 

In winters, queen wasps go into a state of hibernation until spring, if there is enough food for her to stay alive. Then during the warm winter, the queen comes out of hibernation and head straight into nature. If she goes early, she may starve to death. Assuming she makes it, she spots a place where she can start a new colony, then settles in and lay eggs. 

Final Words

Winters are harsher on male wasps throughout the winter season. While the queen wasps go into hibernation population of male wasps depletes rapidly. As a result, the reproduction process takes a major hit. It sounds like female wasps get a better deal in winter bit that is not the case. The survival of both male and female wasps is hard. The hibernation process is also very tough for the queens and requires them to work for it a lot. 

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