# Need Wasp Advice - Rescued A Hibernating Queen?



## lauramars (Feb 5, 2015)

Hi, this is my first post on Arachnoboards. I need advice about how to take care of a wasp and this seemed like a good place to turn.  I will post some backstory and some pictures, and hope for some advice from you experts!  For reference, I live in Montreal, Canada.

In late November-early December, my husband and I were preparing to go to bed when a wasp fell out of the blinds as we were drawing them closed.  The wasp was moving very, very slowly, and seemed sick or about to die.  At the time, we didn't know anything about wasps, but we were shocked to see a wasp so late in the year.  We both felt too sorry for it to kill it, and put it in a plastic box with some sugar water and a napkin.  It seemed to drink the water and perk up a bit.

Over the next day or two, the wasp, who my husband named Prim, didn't move at all after an initial burst of activity, and we assumed she had died.  Still, we didn't throw her away. My husband held on to a vain hope that she might wake up.  Weeks passed, and we forgot about the box to some extent, and even went on vacation for Christmas. Some time at the end of December, after the box had been more or less abandoned for 2-3 weeks, my husband was looking at the wasp and noticed Prim's mouth was moving. She was alive!  We were excited, and tried giving her some more water, and an apple slice, and even some dead moths we'd found.

Well, to make a long story short, here it is February, and Prim has been living with us for about two months now.  We transferred her to a new box, and she is alive and well.  As I write this, she's energetically climbing around on the sticks in her habitat.  From his reading, my husband thinks Prim might be a queen who came out of hibernation too early (we have read that only wasp queens hibernate, and they are larger than workers - and Prim is rather big.)  Does this seem likely?  We are worried about how we will care for her until it is warm enough to let her go.  We are also worried about the possibility of her instincts telling her that she must make a nest now, since she's awake and has access to food. We're not sure what to do.

Some behaviors I have noticed about Prim, along with some questions (please remember that I do not know much, if anything, about wasps).

1. She likes to cling to the side of her box, which is clear plastic. Is she interested in getting out?

2. She drinks sugar water from her water bowls (she has two, a contact lens lid and another plastic cap from somewhere) and seems to enjoy "spitting" the water on the walls of the box. I have seen her doing this many times - she even makes little water "trails" as she walks across the ceiling and walls. What does this mean?

3. I believe she has the capacity for flight, but is choosing not to or lacks the energy. We have seen her fly in her box once - but only once. Does she know it's pointless?

4. Prim is not nearly as energetic in behavior as wasps I have seen in the summer and early fall.

5. She is the most energetic in the middle of the day, and when night falls goes very still.  We have read wasps are sensitive to light and sleep at night. Her behavior seems to reflect that.

6. She is approximately 24mm long.

Some more questions:

1. Does she want to make a nest now, in the middle of winter?  Should we help her do that, or would that be a mistake?
2. Is there a way to put her back into hibernation, and should we consider this as a "better" option for her?
3. Is a diet of sugar water enough? Should she be given other food?  We give her apple slices sometimes.
4. Is her habitat big enough? (See pictures) Should she have a bigger one?

Any advice or knowledge the community can dispense would be very much appreciated! Despite our lack of knowledge, we've grown very fond of Prim and would like to do everything we can to help her fulfill her destiny, whatever her instinct tells her that might be.  Thanks in advance!  Here are some pictures of Prim and her habitat.






And here is an album view of the same pictures that might be higher resolution/better quality: http://imgur.com/a/TxhhV#0

Thanks again!

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## Tleilaxu (Feb 16, 2015)

Looks like Polistes dominula, anyways here is an article I wrote on the topic several years ago, a lot of the pics have been lost, and the article suffered damage from a server move, but I can post a few later today or tomorrow. (And yes you need a larger cage for her.) As for putting her back too sleep, its possible, you need to stop feeding for a day, and then slowly drop the temp back down to outdoor temps, though I cannot promise she will survive that endeavor.

http://venomlist.com/forums/index.php?/topic/19684-keeping-north-american-polistes-wasps/

Wasp cage:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v322/Tleilaxu/000_3866.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/Polistes/000_3559.jpg

As for food, she will also need to eat honey, crickets, waxworms, and other soft bodied insects. (She will also need regular water)

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/Polistes/000_2943.jpg

Another user here, Chesire, also wrote some wasp related artcles for this site, but I don't know if they have any pics anymore.

And whatever you do, do _not_ release her back to the wild, she is an invasive species, if you don't want to deal with the possibilty of raising a colony, chill her down and place her in the freezer to peacefully put her to sleep, permenantly.

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## Hanska (Feb 16, 2015)

You really shouldn't post things like that here!
Now I got interested in wasp keeping...and I hate wasps!

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## lauramars (Feb 17, 2015)

Thank you so much for this information and identification, it's exactly what we were looking for.  My husband and I are studying up on p. dominula now.  Your article is amazing!  I will post my thoughts after reading it more fully, but I wanted to express my thanks right away.

Prim has not moved for a few days.  She's hanging upside down in her box.  I will start constructing a bigger habitat for her based on your advice.  Not sure where we will get crickets and caterpillars in the middle of winter - pet store?  I wouldn't mind raising a colony but I'm not sure what our landlords would think if they found out.

Another question that occurred to me is: Is it possible the wasp is male?

---------- Post added 02-17-2015 at 07:42 PM ----------

Ok, I read your article - SO INFORMATIVE AND HELPFUL.  Thank you!

A few more questions: Is it ok to feed dead insects if we can't find live ones?

Secondly, Prim is nearly motionless at all times of late, unlike the captured wasps in your article.  Lately, she hasn't exhibited the range of motion and energy that she was displaying when I first wrote this post.  I am not sure if this is due to a lack of nutrition, sickness, the time of year...?  

Well, I guess we will just build a new habitat for her and try to find some crickets or worms somewhere for a first step at being better wasp keepers.

---------- Post added 02-17-2015 at 08:28 PM ----------

Just to update, I added honey to Prim's cage tonight (also I think she must be a queen as she does have the black dot in the middle of her face that Tleilaxu's article described)

Also Hanska, I felt the same as you until Prim fell out of our window...now I just have to learn more!


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## Najakeeper (Feb 18, 2015)

First of all let me start by saying that I just love animal lovers. They/we cannot even kill a wasp when it falls down into our sleeping room .

I think most of your questions are answered by the article. One easy answer is, almost all pet shops will have some sort of a feeder insect, most likely crickets. You can also order a wide variety of insects and their larvae online so there is no need to start a colony of anything for a single wasp. Here is one website that you may use but there are multiple: http://www.timberlinefisheries.com/default.asp

I hope she pulls through the winter...

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## lauramars (Feb 18, 2015)

Today, Prim is moving around for the first time in three days, and eating honey.  I was so happy to see her moving around and looking at me. She also pooped.  We need to get her some insects asap! I found a Canadian website that sells live insects, but I can only order 100+ insects at a time which seems somewhat impractical for one wasp.  I am gonna go to the pet store tomorrow to see what options there are and look for a better box for her.

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## edgeofthefreak (Feb 18, 2015)

Najakeeper said:


> First of all let me start by saying that I just love animal lovers. They/we cannot even kill a wasp when it falls down into our sleeping room


^ +1

Wasps have never been a favourite of mine. Yet I find myself coming to this thread for updates. This forum, and this hobby we're all involved in, has certainly changed my attitude towards all living things. And that now includes wasps as well.

Thank you for being such a kind and caring person. I'm rootin' for Prim as well!

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## Dizzle (Feb 19, 2015)

edgeofthefreak said:


> ^ +1
> 
> Wasps have never been a favourite of mine. Yet I find myself coming to this thread for updates. This forum, and this hobby we're all involved in, has certainly changed my attitude towards all living things. And that now includes wasps as well.
> 
> Thank you for being such a kind and caring person. I'm rootin' for Prim as well!


Agreed on all points. To the OP, keep us updated and thanks for sharing! I have been following this thread too and it totally makes we want to try and keep one this summer when I go catching bugs and the like. Good luck with your specimen and I hope feeding it insects works out. If it does and if you feel you can snag a pic I (probably others as well) would love to see it in action. Wasps are extremely fascinating but I must admit I do get very nervous around them or anything that flies and has a stinger really. Maybe caring for a wasp or wasp(s) will help with that, anyway thanks again for sharing and keeping us posted, look forward to more!

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## Hanska (Feb 20, 2015)

Remotely related has anyone kept bumblebees?

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## cold blood (Feb 20, 2015)

op, go to a bait store, wax worms (or spikes)are extremely popular bait and really easy to find....being in Canada there's likely more bait shops around than there are pet stores anyway.

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## Tleilaxu (Feb 21, 2015)

You have a female, very likely a queen, or foundress. All the wild males are long since dead. Anyways, hope you get her settled and adjusted well, anyways she will likely not be very active until later march/early april, when they wake up naturally. She will rely on increasing day length and temperatures to set her internal clocks, so make sure she is in a very well lit room.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/Polistes/000_3660.jpg


@Hanska, yes I know people whom have kept Bombus sp, its impractical to keep them in a closed system like wasps, they must have access to the outdoors, but they are fun and rewarding nonethless, also really great pollinators. And since they are a big industry in there own right, there should be enough info out already on how to maintain a colony.

And it does seem this hobby is catching on.... this guy apparently also keeps wasps, as much as I would like to take credit for that, Im not THAT egotistical, _yet_

[YOUTUBE]OXbPNFDO3MU[/YOUTUBE]

I may need to pick the torch back up and get back into the hobby. Seven years I have taken a break sheesh, it feels like yesterday.

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## WeeHector (Feb 22, 2015)

Quite by chance, I have just uploaded a photo of a _Polistes dominula_ on the photos thread. This is one feeding on a newly moulted firebug. They fly round inspecting every one until they find one which doesn't have a hard shell and then go in for the kill. It's fascinating to watch.

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## WeeHector (Feb 22, 2015)

Had these guys living inside the rear-view mirror of my camping car

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## Hanska (Feb 23, 2015)

WeeHector said:


> Had these guys living inside the rear-view mirror of my camping car


Cool, wasps with a mobile home.

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## lauramars (Feb 24, 2015)

These are great pictures!  P dominula looks really awesome, like a yellow and black mclaren P1 with its doors open. And that video was so fascinating!  I like how they manipulate their food.  Got Prim (still alive and well, though very sleepy most of the time) a biiiig box today.  Once I figure out how and where I'm going to set it up, I'll drill airholes and mod it for her future nest.  No luck yet with insects, but I found a bait store in the city that I'll probably visit sometime this week.

Our living room gets scads of natural light, which is where she stays, but we've taken to keeping the electric lights off in there after it gets dark so her internal clock doesn't get confused.

Tleilaxu, I'm from Minnesota born and raised (even though I live in Canada now), nice to see someone from the old homestead.

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## WeeHector (Feb 28, 2015)

lauramars said:


> These are great pictures!  P dominula looks really awesome, like a yellow and black mclaren P1 with its doors open. And that video was so fascinating!  I like how they manipulate their food.  Got Prim (still alive and well, though very sleepy most of the time) a biiiig box today.  Once I figure out how and where I'm going to set it up, I'll drill airholes and mod it for her future nest.  No luck yet with insects, but I found a bait store in the city that I'll probably visit sometime this week.
> 
> Our living room gets scads of natural light, which is where she stays, but we've taken to keeping the electric lights off in there after it gets dark so her internal clock doesn't get confused.
> 
> Tleilaxu, I'm from Minnesota born and raised (even though I live in Canada now), nice to see someone from the old homestead.


Nice to meet someone who is willing to look after a wasp queen. I took up macro photography a couple of years ago and it taught me total respect for other species. I won't kill anything now. Where do you live in Canada? I am Scottish but spent 5 years in Ontario as a kid. Now living in France.


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## TheHonestPirate (Mar 1, 2015)

Hanska said:


> You really shouldn't post things like that here!
> Now I got interested in wasp keeping...and I hate wasps!


My thoughts exactly after reading that. This hobby is so addicting!


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## TheHonestPirate (Mar 1, 2015)

Are wasps as aggressive as people make them out to be? I know since getting into the hobby that snakes and spiders arent deman creatures from the pits of hell out to kill humans.


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## The Snark (Mar 1, 2015)

TheHonestPirate said:


> Are wasps as aggressive as people make them out to be? I know since getting into the hobby that snakes and spiders arent deman creatures from the pits of hell out to kill humans.


Depends on the type of wasp. I lost one of my favorite bike riding roads when a wasp nest started in a tree hanging over it. Anyone going under that tree gets tagged.


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## Tleilaxu (Mar 2, 2015)

TheHonestPirate said:


> Are wasps as aggressive as people make them out to be? I know since getting into the hobby that snakes and spiders arent deman creatures from the pits of hell out to kill humans.


Depends on the species, with time, you can free handle polistes wasps and actually touch the nests, while other species will nail you for looking at them funny.


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## TheHonestPirate (Mar 2, 2015)

Tleilaxu said:


> Depends on the species, with time, you can free handle polistes wasps and actually touch the nests, while other species will nail you for looking at them funny.


Youre telling me there are wasps that you can handle? Thats crazy..

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## Tleilaxu (Apr 23, 2015)

Well any updates, the wasps are starting to move around up here... so maybe yours is now moree active?


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## Creeper (Apr 25, 2015)

Would be interested to get an update on Prim.


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## lauramars (May 26, 2015)

*Update on Prim the Wasp!*

Hey everyone!  I am necro-ing this thread to give an update on Prim and once again ask the advice of the good people on this forum.  Your advice so far has really helped us understand our wasp better.  Prim is still alive and well.  She has now lived with my husband and I since the winter, and we successfully moved her to a larger enclosure a couple months ago.

I am going to post pictures of her and her new enclosure below, but first a status update on her behavior and my observations, questions, and concerns.

- Despite the warm weather, Prim is not really moving much, and shows no inclination to build a hive.  I have seen wasps out and about outside, so I know it's time for her to be more active.  Still, she acts like she's still "hibernating" much of the time.

- Prim spends the majority of her days and nights huddled under a small "tent" of paper towels in the center of her enclosure.  We have not removed this paper towel tent, as she seems to get agitated when we fuss with it.  

- She tends to become extremely active when placed in direct sunlight.  We've seen her take flight a couple of times when we put her in the sun, so we know her wings are working.

- She's not interested in the cardboard we've glued into the corner of her enclosure.

- She doesn't seem to eat much.  We keep her supplied with honey, water, and apple slices regularly, though we don't often see her using any of the supplies.  We've seen her feed and drink a couple of times, so we know she knows where they are.  We also purchased live mealworms and have offered them to her, but the one time we observed her interacting with a live mealworm, she tapped it with her antenna, then ran in the opposite direction to hide in her tent.  She's ignored any subsequent mealworms. The mealworms are not bigger than she is, and I've seen videos of P. Dominula killing large insects without a problem. Pacifist wasp?

My questions:

- What can we do to encourage Prim to start a hive?  What are we not doing?
- Is there a reason she would reject the mealworms?
- Would removing the paper towel tent encourage her to build, or would this be seen as an aggressive or destructive move?
- Is placing her in the sunlight safe? We have avoided doing it for any length of time because we're afraid she'll cook in the plastic enclosure.  But on the other hand, it's the only time she really seems to become active and attempt flight.

Here are some pictures:




Our cat was curious about the wasp so my husband lifted her up to see - this is the only 'far shot' I have of the enclosure.  The white patch of crumpled paper in the middle is her paper towel tent.  Don't worry, the cat can't get up onto that shelf on her own - everyone is safe.




Exploring.




Flaring her wings.

Our friends and family all think we are insane for willingly adopting a wasp, but whatever, Prim is our pet.

Any advice or thoughts you experts feel like sharing would be very much appreciated, and thanks for reading!

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## Najakeeper (Jun 8, 2015)

I have no Wasp experience but this topic should be "upped" for the experts to see. Awesome "pet" .


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## Malhavoc's (Jun 8, 2015)

I am afraid I've not kept wasps myself, but do know they enjoy sunlight, with adequate ventilation, the heat from the sun should not be adverse, try with a half half exposure perhaps? one half sunlit one half concealed?


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## The Snark (Jun 9, 2015)

Follow the old adage: Animals are products of their environment. So you move and modify the environment a little at a time until she demonstrates traits closely resembling how she would/should act in the wild.

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## lauramars (Jun 10, 2015)

Malhavoc that's a good suggestion.  We're going to drape a cotton towel over half her enclosure and try it!  

My husband and I are going to visit my family in Minnesota in a week and we're not sure how to deal with Prim, she's not the type of pet you can easily ask a neighbor to take care of.  One of our biggest problems is that her water supply evaporates so quickly

We purchased a small amount of "gel water" used for crickets in place of water - would that be ok to give to a wasp?  Does it "spoil"? Is it ok to leave in her habitat for a week?  Thanks!


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## Malhavoc's (Jun 12, 2015)

lauramars said:


> Malhavoc that's a good suggestion.  We're going to drape a cotton towel over half her enclosure and try it!
> 
> My husband and I are going to visit my family in Minnesota in a week and we're not sure how to deal with Prim, she's not the type of pet you can easily ask a neighbor to take care of.  One of our biggest problems is that her water supply evaporates so quickly
> 
> We purchased a small amount of "gel water" used for crickets in place of water - would that be ok to give to a wasp?  Does it "spoil"? Is it ok to leave in her habitat for a week?  Thanks!


That should work fine, however they too will dry out. It is a tricky situation, you could try adding a small container with water and pebbles in it, that way she can climb out if she falls in, yet it will have sufficient quantity to not dry out

Ninja edit: what we do with ants is a test tube and cotton ball set up, we fill the test tube with water, and another with sugar water, then wad a cotton ball into it, this prevents the water from escaping other then by leaching through the cotton which the ants can drink from, a similar set up could be adapted for the wasp, less exposure slower evaporation.


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## lauramars (Jun 15, 2015)

*Good Luck, Prim*

Well, after many months of trying to provide Prim with the best environment and food that we could, my husband and I realized that the only thing she really wanted to do was get out of her cage.  She wasn't interested in killing or eating the different bugs we provided (we provided her with both dead and live insects and she didn't show interest in any of them), or making a hive with the materials we put in her cage, and most of the time she was dormant and sleeping, or slowly crawling around.  The only exception to this was when we put her in the sunlight - then she became active, but the only thing she tried to do at that time was get out of her cage.  She would fly directly into the plastic towards the light over and over, sometimes even falling down and scrambling back up to do it again.  

We felt a lot of empathy with this wasp who just seemed to switch between almost complete dormancy and desperately wanting to be free.

So a couple of days ago, we let her go.  It's what she seemed to want most, and she flew off into the sunlight without a second thought.  It was awesome to see her soar into the air and join the other insect life of the world.  We never would have imagined that the slowly crawling, tiny, half-frozen wasp that fell onto our windowsill in late November could be the same large, graceful, black and yellow creature that flew away on Saturday.

We did leave her shelter propped open on the balcony if she wanted to return and make it her "base", but it's been a couple of days and she hasn't returned.  Maybe it's not the most responsible thing we could have done in the big picture, but it was the best thing we could think of to do for her in the long run, since getting out was the only thing she seemed to really want.  She faced a slow death in captivity with no hive or family, or a quick death at our hands, and we came to care for Prim so much that couldn't face the idea of either one. 

Thank you to everyone for your help these past few months.  I have learned more about wasps and many other insects than I ever thought I would!

Maybe the decision to release Prim won't be popular with people here (I know most people hate wasps), but everyone has been so helpful that I wanted to tell the story of her fate.  It seemed like the only acceptable choice we had.  I know these types of wasps can be regarded as troublemakers, but as my husband said, she's our troublemaker.  So we wish her the best.

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## Malhavoc's (Jun 15, 2015)

You tried a very difficult task, I know of people who have kidnapped established nests not heard of any start from scratch, thanks for keeping us updated!

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## The Snark (Jun 15, 2015)

You went above and beyond the call of duty. Not just in the rescue of the animal but in bringing forth the highest possible quality we possess: compassion. The cosmic dance is a little richer for your actions. Nuff said.

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## edgeofthefreak (Jun 15, 2015)

Thanks for the update, and I honestly would have done the very same. I have never been a direct fan of wasps, but your thread has opened my eyes quite a bit. Releasing her, in my opinion, is the most natural next step in your care for her.

To me, you kept her guarded from predators and the elements until she had the strength to do it herself. Kudos, yo!


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## Mr Waspman (Feb 22, 2022)

I know it is about 10 years too late to reply to the Wasp story or if my message will even be found, but, I have been searching on line to try and find out how to help the Vespula vulgaris Wasp, that was flying around in my house in January six weeks ago survive until Spring and what temperature she should be kept at.  All the sites I found were mostly Pest Control sites describing how to kill them, -  not so useful.  I am sure she must be a Queen, I caught her and confined her to a ventilated  box with an old fluffy sock to sit on. She has not moved since and I didn't  want to disturb her, I have put in Honey/water and some moistened dried Mealworms and Calciworms but as she has not moved she certainly has not been feeding. I currently have the box in a cool unheated room with very low light conditions. I will be pleased to recieve any help/comments .

During late summer 2022  I had one or  two Vespula vulgaris Wasps in the kitchen so I thought I would put some sugar solution outside for them and they told all their mates, I started feeding them 4oz. of Sugar in 500ml of water, I had to fill up the container four times/day. so today that is 2 litres of sugar solution in one day.
I found a Wasp floating in a bowl of water in kitchen sink, I scooped it up and put it on a bit of tissue by the AGA to dry. An hour later I had a look at it under my microscope but there was no sign of life at all, and its sting was sticking out. I thought, I am going to bring this Wasp back to life. So under the microscope I sorted out its tangled legs and Antennae, and with a sharpened cocktail stick, I gently manipulated its legs and rubbed it's back ,  its feet started to make microsdcopic twitches, then its abdomen started to move, then it's mouth parts moved a bit, so I started giving micro amounts of sugar solution just tiny bits on the the sharpened end of the stick. and it started feeding but it was still lying on its side unable to move, after 15 minutse of feeding and stroking it it started to move its legs. so I put it on some tissue in a margarine tub by the AGA and 30 minutes later it was flapping its wings, I carried the box outside to where my Wasp feeder is and all her mates came to see her, and what a story she had to tell them  the box had about 15 - 20 Wasps in it. I don't expect they believed her though -- Miracle !                    Mr Waspman


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