Wasp fact sheet | Field of Mars EEC

What are wasps?

Wasps are insects in the order Hymenoptera, which also includes bees and ants. In Australia there are over 12,000 wasp species. Many native wasps are solitary, but some, such as paper wasps, live in small colonies. Adult wasps often feed on nectar, while many larvae feed on other insects, spiders or other animal hosts. Some wasps are parasitoids, including ichneumon wasps, and others are tiny gall-forming wasps that develop inside plant tissue such as eucalypt leaves.

A wasp.

A mud-dauber wasp building or resting on its mud nest.

Where do wasps live?

Different wasps live in different habitats. Paper wasps build open paper nests under leaves, branches and eaves. Mud-dauber and potter wasps make nests from mud in sheltered places such as walls, rocks and buildings. Ichneumon wasps search through bark, wood and leaf litter for hidden insect larvae. Eucalyptus gall wasps live where suitable eucalypts grow, and although the adults are tiny and hard to see, their galls can sometimes be noticed as small raised bumps on leaves.

Paper wasps build open nests made from chewed plant fibres.

Tiny eucalyptus gall wasps lay eggs in eucalyptus leaves, causing small raised galls to form.

What do wasps eat?

Many adult wasps drink nectar from flowers. Their larvae usually need richer food. Paper wasps catch caterpillars and other insects for their young. Mud-dauber and spider wasps hunt spiders. Potter wasps stock their nests with caterpillars or grubs. Ichneumon wasps lay eggs on or near other insect larvae, and their young develop by feeding on those hosts. Eucalyptus gall wasps are different again: their larvae grow inside plant galls formed on eucalypt leaves.

Spider wasps hunt spiders to feed to their larvae.

Some potter wasps collect caterpillars and store them in resin or mud nests for their larvae.

What is the life cycle of a wasp?

Most wasps have four life stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. A female lays eggs in a nest, mud cell, burrow, host animal or plant tissue. When the egg hatches, the larva feeds on the food source linked to that species. In paper wasps, adults bring prey back to the nest. In mud-dauber and potter wasps, the larva feeds on the prey stored in a sealed chamber. In ichneumon wasps, the larva develops on or inside another insect. In eucalyptus gall wasps, the larva develops inside a gall formed by the plant around the egg.

Young paper wasps develop inside the open cells of the nest.

Spider wasp larvae develop in nest cells stocked with spiders.

What adaptations do wasps have to help them survive?

Wasps have many adaptations that help them survive. Their ovipositor allows females to place eggs in safe places, and in some species it is modified into a sting. Female ichneumon wasps can have a very long ovipositor that helps them reach insect larvae hidden in bark or wood. Paper wasps can chew plant fibres and mix them with saliva to make papery nests, while mud wasps build strong mud chambers to protect their young. Eucalyptus gall wasps are tiny, but they have a remarkable adaptation: when the female lays eggs in soft eucalyptus tissue, the plant forms a gall around the developing larva.

Some female ichneumon wasps have a very long ovipositor for laying eggs in hidden insect hosts.

Why are wasps important?

Wasps are important parts of food webs. Many adult wasps visit flowers for nectar and help move pollen between plants. Other wasps are predators or parasitoids that help keep insect populations in balance. This means wasps can help control pest insects in gardens, farms and bushland. Wasps are also food for other animals, so they help move energy through ecosystems.

When wasps feed on nectar, they can also help pollinate flowers.

How can you help wasps?

You can help native wasps by growing flowering plants that provide nectar, leaving some natural habitat such as bark, leaf litter, bare soil and muddy patches, and avoiding unnecessary pesticide use. If a native wasp nest is in a safe place away from doors and play areas, leave it undisturbed. If you think you have found an unusual or introduced wasp, take a photo and report it rather than killing it, because it may be a native species.

In some flower wasp species, the winged male carries the wingless female while visiting flowers.

Related fact sheets

More invertebrate fact sheets

• Invertebrate fact sheets – overview
• Insects fact sheet  – Wasps are insects with the same basic insect body plan.
• Stingless bee fact sheet
• Blue-banded bee fact sheet
• Bull ant fact sheet

Habitats and ecosystems

• Leaf litter fact sheet

• Shrub habitat fact sheet

• Tree habitats fact sheet

• Eucalypt forest fact sheet

• Field of Mars Reserve fact sheet

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