the.com/wasp nest
Paper mâché apartment complex run by a queen with zero chill.
means A papery, multi-chambered structure built by wasps from chewed wood pulp, used to raise young and shelter the colony.
from 'Wasp' traces back to Old English 'wæps/wæsp', part of a very old Germanic word family (related to German 'Wespe'), itself likely descended from a Proto-Indo-European root associated with weaving — a fitting ancestry, since the insects weave their paper combs from chewed wood fiber and saliva. 'Nest' is just as ancient, from Old English 'nest', tracing to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning roughly 'to sit down' or 'place for resting' — the same deep root that gives related words in many Indo-European languages for a settled-down dwelling place.
- made from
- chewed wood pulp and wasp spit
- population
- can exceed ten thousand by late summer
- lifespan
- abandoned every year, never reused
- defense
- alarm pheromone summons backup instantly