Do wasps drink?

Answer

Dear Randy,

like other living creatures, insects also need water; but in many insects this is absorbed through the food. Plant-eating insects, for example, obtain the greatest amount of moisture they need from the plant sap, while insects that mainly feed on nectar or blood also need less water.

The reason that you don’t see many insects consuming water is that the amounts required are low, and that a single raindrop or some (honey) dew is sufficient to provide the moisture supply. It is different with carnivorous insects such as wasps; these often have to look for their moisture elsewhere; this is also one of the reasons that you often find the wasps near the water. They should drink initially to avoid dehydration.

Secondly, wasps also need water to make the papery material from which their nests are built (both the balloon-shaped shell and the combs). To this end they gnaw off soft wood and other fibers with their jaws; these are chewed finely with their mandibula (jaws) and mixed with water or saliva to form the typical gray or brownish yellow colored papery material.

And third, albeit less important, water is sometimes supplied to the nest at high temperatures to lower the temperature and at the same time to maintain the relative humidity in the nest.

kind regards,

Hans