Overwintering Vespula germanica queen

[funnylori]

I just found this Vespula germanica queen while repotting a bunch of succulents. It was over wintering between the petals of one of the succulents that I bought from walmart for 10 and 50 cents a few days ago. I wasn't sure if it was dead or alive so I grabbed my trusty forceps and collection vial and started to reach for a leg when it twitched! I herded it into the vial and took some pics.

I have heard that the adults will eat fruit and nectar, but I was wondering if I should really feed it at all since it is overwintering.

I was wondering if anybody could give me some tips on caring for this overwintering queen while I have her. I would hate to see it go to waste. I think a wasp colony would be really cool, but I am not sure if I can keep one where I live. So if anybody is interested I might consider a trade for something with a few more legs or mantids...

 

[nepenthes]

keep it in the same conditions as the plant it was in, you know temperature and light wise, when the time starts i would feed some protein, the reproductive would need it, I would wait for EARLY spring to start feeding the queen. I don't know much about wasps but I do know that the adults do eat sweets, and the young ones require some form of protein.

pretty though isn't she?

 

[funnylori]

She is beautiful. Thank you for the tips!

 

[Stylopidae]

Actually, since she was buried the less light the better.

Wasp foundresses are incredibly sensitive to direct sunlight. Even a few minutes could kill her.

I found this out from experience.

 

[Waspman]

This is actually a V. pensylvanica queen. She has a complete yellow ring around her eye, while the very similar V. germanica does not.

There was a discussion about this over at the VenomList, here's my response from there:

I would get a large jar (around 5 inches tall), poke a good amount of holes in the lid and fill the bottom with 1"/1.5" of dirt and fill the rest of the jar up with loose leaf litter (not too packed in/condensed). Find a safe spot outside where it can't be harmed by rain or snow or the sun's direct rays, but where it will still get the effects of the cold weather. This is important because you want her to be in nearly the same conditions she would be in if she wasn't captured. The cold weather helps her to go into hibernation.

She has enough fat stores to last through hibernation.

 

[Tleilaxu]

SWEET find. Good luck with her she seem really big. Anyway waspman knows his stuff.

 

[funnylori]

She is huge! And, thank you Waspman for the correction. I see what you mean now about the rings around the eyes being different.