Knowledgebase

Do black wasps abandon there young #875561

Asked July 01, 2024, 7:19 PM EDT

I have a question write me here or text me<personal data hidden>. I was wondering if wasps abandon there young I notice for about a week there was a adult wasp that was protecting the nest it had fallen off the house on to the porch. I could see 3 inside the nest and there was a white cap on the middle the 2nd day i notice the white cap was gone nothing inside maybe he was old enough to fly away not sure I did see a black wasp fly over with some food in it's mouth I watched the wasp feed the young inside the nest the next day I didn't see any black wasp come around 2nd day nothing I checked on it throu out the day and night nothing so 3rd day in the morning I went to check the nest out I seen still the 3 inside though they died but they were still alive so I grabbed a small piece of chicken chewed it up real good and fine took my wife pin and started feeding the 3 little ones some chicken they ate it up they were pretty hungry. My guess is that the adult wasp must have died or got eating by something idk. I didn't want to see the young stave to death. So if you have any really good tips for me I should know about on keeping the youngsters alive and we'll id be very happy to hear thank you. I tried up loading a photo but the page will not let me upload a photo sorry.

Benton County Minnesota

Expert Response

They do feed their young and chewed up protein should be a good food for them as long as no salt has been used. Tiny pieces of raw ( don’t chew ) chicken should be fine too. 
Here is a fact sheet describing their life cycle and how they care for their young. 

https://entomology.umn.edu/great-black-wasp

Loading ...