Wasp egg. Egg laid in the nest of the wasp Polistes sp. The rounded white egg is seen at the base of an hexagonal cell of the nest. Only one egg is la
Wasp egg. Egg laid in the nest of the wasp Polistes sp. The rounded white egg is seen at the base of an hexagonal cell of the nest. Only one egg is laid in each cell. The queen and founder of the nest builds these hexagonal cells from chewed- up dry plant material mixed with her saliva. After laying her eggs, she guards them as they hatch into larvae. The larvae are fed on digested insects, and fresh or rotting meat. Fully formed larvae close the cell with silk and spin a cocoon. Four to six weeks after the egg is laid it pupates into an infertile adult female worker, and helps to raise the next generation of wasps.
Size: 5079px × 3598px
Photo credit: © CLAUDE NURIDSANY & MARIE PERENNOU/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: animal, egg, insect, insecta, invertebrate, invertebrates, nature, nest, polistes, sp., type, wasp, wildlife, zoology
