Ants Raiding Wasp Nest

Photographs from the archives.

The nest belongs to common Polistes paper wasps. Paper wasps are supposed to produce a secretion that they spread on the petiole of the nest (the thin strand that fastens the nest to the substrate) to deter ant predators.  Obviously the secretion failed this time. (The link takes you to a photograph of an intact nest).

3 Replies to “Ants Raiding Wasp Nest”

  1. I really can’t remember. These were loose slides in a box that I had scanned recently. Wish I knew more.

  2. I just recently started learning more about ants when I got my ant farm 3 days ago. I’m not exactly an expert yet so I was wondering: why were the ants raiding the wasp nest? What was in there that the ants wanted? Were the wasps there during the invasion, and if so, were they trying to defend their nest?
    Thank you! 🙂

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