Paper Wasp

I thought this article about the Paper Wasp was so interesting.* Even if you don't love paper as much as I do, I'm sure you'll agree that it's an amazing creature. Here is what it says:

The Engineering Instinct of the Paper Wasp

Paper wasps have been described as masters of

engineering. Why is this description fitting?

Consider: As its name suggests, the paper wasp

builds and maintains its compound nest out of a

special kind of paper, which it manufactures itself.

The insect collects fibers of plants and of dead wood

from all kinds of places—logs, fence posts, telephone

poles, and building materials. It then chews

the cellulose-rich material, adding a sticky, highprotein

saliva. When applied, the resulting paste

dries to form a light, firm, yet tough, paper. Moreover,

the saliva has special properties that enable

the paper to generate and absorb heat, thus maintaining

the right temperature in the brood comb on

cool days.

The wasp builds its nest “mouthful by mouthful.”

The finished product is a waterproof, paperumbrella-

covered cluster of hexagonal cells—the

hexagon combining strength and efficiency. Wasps

that live in wetter areas simply add more oral secretion

because of its water-resistant properties. That

said, the insects select sites that offer some kind

of protective overhang. From this they suspend their

downward-facing nests by a stalk, or petiole. Moreover,

paper wasps do no harm to the environment

—unlike our papermaking processes, which pollute

air, water, and land!

Understandably, architects and researchers are

studying the wasp’s products with a view to designing

superior building materials that are lightweight,

strong, more flexible, and biodegradable.

What do you think? Did an insect with

a brain roughly the size of two grains of sand figure

out papermaking and nest architecture by itself? Or

are its chemical- and mechanical-engineering skills

evidence of design?

- A number of wasp species build paper nests. The cells therein serve

as chambers for eggs, which develop into larvae.

This article reminded me of one of my favorite stores called The Paper Source. Their logo (above) is actually an impression of a paper wasp. You can read more about it here.

* From the February 2012 Awake!