A wasp called Metricus

Several kinds of wasps can be found in Southeast Missouri. I photographed this nest on a shed's interior wall Sept. 26. The wasps are a species of native paper wasp called Metricus paper wasps.

The male of the species has a yellow face, and the female's face is red-brown. Metricus paper wasps are generally not aggressive, but will defend their nest if disturbed. You can expect a painful sting if one attacks you. These wasps often are referred to as black wasps.

Paper wasps survive the winter in what seems to be an odd way. In late summer, nests produce next year's queens, which mates with males and then finds a safe place to hibernate for the winter. By midwinter, the old queens, sterile females -- aka workers -- and males die, leaving only the hibernating mated queens as survivors.

The following spring these new queens will begin building new nests and laying their eggs, each in an individual compartment. The nests will grow slowly during spring and summer, depending upon the number of queens working on any particular nest site.

The nest is made of wood fibers collected from dead tree bark or soft old wood.

Through the Woods is a weekly nature photo column by Aaron Horrell. Find this column at semissourian.com to order a reprint of the photo. Find more work by him at the Painted Wren Gallery.