A Look Inside An Old Abandoned Wasps Nest
- Laurence Edwards
- 3 days ago
- 7 min read
If you keep bees, you learn very quickly that you are not the only insect interested in your hives. Wasps are out hunting in the same airspace, especially late in the summer and into autumn, and they can cause a lot of worry. When I found an old abandoned wasps nest recently, I took the opportunity to open it up, study it in detail and think about what it teaches us as beekeepers.
In this blog I will walk you through what is actually going on inside a wasps nest, what happens to it at the end of the season, whether wasps will kill your bees, and most importantly how to defend beehives from wasps in a sensible, practical way.
What really happens to a wasps nest at the end of the season
At first glance an abandoned wasps nest looks dead and finished, but it tells the story of an entire season. A typical social wasp colony starts from a single overwintered queen in spring. She finds a dry cavity, begins building the first paper comb and raises the first batch of workers. By late summer, that small start can turn into thousands of wasps supported by layer on layer of comb.
By the time you find an old nest, the colony has usually collapsed. The founding queen and the majority of workers have died off with the first cold snaps. The new queens and drones have already left to mate and the nest is no longer active. That is why an old wasps nest hanging in a shed or hedge in December is not dangerous. It is a snapshot, frozen in time, of what went on earlier in the year.
From a beekeeper’s point of view, that abandoned nest is useful. It tells you that the immediate area can support a wasp colony of that size and that there are likely to be similar nests again next year. It also shows you how close wasps have been working to your bees without you ever realising.
Inside the architecture of a wasps nest
Opening up an abandoned nest is fascinating. The outer paper shell is made from chewed wood pulp mixed with saliva, layered into a lightweight but surprisingly strong envelope. Inside you will see a central stalk holding the first comb and then multiple combs suspended in tiers. The whole structure is designed to keep brood at the correct temperature and humidity while allowing wasps to move freely around the comb.
Compared with a beehive, a wasps nest is much more disposable. Honey bees build comb that might be used for several seasons. Wasps build for a single summer, then walk away. But the density of brood cells and the sheer amount of protein those larvae consume explains why wasps become so focused on your hives later in the year. When natural prey starts to dry up, a strong wasp colony will turn to honey bees and their stores as a convenient high energy food source.
Will wasps kill my bees?
This is one of the most common questions I get asked. The honest answer is that a strong, healthy hive will usually stand up to wasp pressure very well, but a weak colony can be killed by wasps if it is not protected.
Wasps do not attack with the intention of wiping out your bees. They are simply following food sources. If they find a hive that they can rob with little resistance, they will keep coming and they will recruit more nest mates to the opportunity.
You will often see wasps testing your colonies, hovering around the entrance or probing cracks. The bees on guard will meet them, grapple with them and in most cases the wasps will be turned away or killed. Problems start when:
Colonies are very small, queenless or stressed
Entrances are wide open and poorly defended
There are spills of syrup or honey around the apiary attracting wasps in
Other nearby food sources have disappeared and the hive is the easiest target.
In those situations, wasps can overwhelm the guards, get inside the hive, kill bees and strip out combs of stores. Understanding that dynamic is the key to staying ahead of them.
How to defend beehives from wasps
Defending your bees from wasps is about acting early, not waiting until you see heavy robbing. Here is the system I use in my own apiaries.
Start with strong colonies
Strong colonies are always your best defence. Make sure you combine hopelessly weak hives rather than trying to carry them through on their own.
Keep on top of queen issues, disease and varroa so that the colonies going into late summer have plenty of young bees and a good laying queen. A strong hive with a focused guard line at the entrance is incredibly hard for wasps to break.
Tidy up the apiary and feed carefully
Never feed syrup casually when wasps are about. Use good quality feeders that do not leak and avoid spilling syrup on the outside of the hive.
If you do spill, wash it away thoroughly. Remove brace comb, wet supers and cappings quickly. Any sweet smell drifting around the yard is a beacon for wasps and will pull them onto your bees.
Reduce entrances and block weak points
As soon as you see wasps testing the entrances, reduce them down. On nucs and smaller hives I will often come down to a single small opening that two or three guards can control. Check for gaps in floors, ill fitting roofs or damaged boxes. Wasps are very good at finding back doors that the bees are not defending.
Use traps where appropriate
Wasp traps can help reduce pressure around the apiary, especially if you have large nests nearby. I prefer to site traps around the boundary rather than right next to the hives so that I am catching scouting wasps before they ever reach the bees. Remember that traps are a tool, not a solution on their own. If your colonies are very weak, traps will not save them.
Deal with active nests sensibly
If you find an active wasps nest very close to your apiary entrance, you may decide to have it removed, particularly if the wasps are already targeting the bees. Use a professional pest controller if the nest is in an awkward or dangerous place.
Equally, if the nest is quiet and away from your bees, you may decide to leave it alone and simply harden up your hive defences. Each site is different and you need to balance wasp control with wider environmental considerations.
What to do if you find an old wasps nest near your hives
Finding an abandoned nest in winter or early spring is not a cause for panic. The nest is finished and will never be re occupied. What it gives you is information. You now know that wasps have worked that area successfully and that you should be ready for them again next season.
Use the old nest as a prompt to plan your wasp defence:
Think about where you site nucs and weaker colonies.
Plan for entrance reduction as soon as you see wasp activity.
Make a note to keep feeding and honey processing tidy in late summer.
Consider how you will use traps around the boundary of the apiary.
If you want to see how a wasps nest actually looks in real life, I have a detailed video where I open up an old nest and talk through the structure -
How 14 Day Beekeeper can help
A big part of staying ahead of wasps is simply knowing what your colonies should look like at each point in the season and spotting problems early.
That is exactly what my 14 Day Beekeeper course is designed to do for you.
Inside 14 Day Beekeeper, I walk you through the core skills of good hive management so you can build strong colonies, keep them healthy and avoid the situations that make them vulnerable to wasps and other pests.
If you would like step by step video guidance that you can return to throughout the season, you can find full details of 14 Day Beekeeper here -
Common questions about wasps and bees
Do I need to destroy every wasps nest I find near my bees
No. Wasps are part of the wider ecosystem and they do a lot of useful work clearing up dead insects and caterpillars. I only consider removing a nest if it is very close to the apiary and I can see that the wasps are actively targeting my colonies despite good hive defences.
Will wasps kill my bees
Wasps can kill bees, but the risk is very dependent on the strength of the hive. A strong hive with a good queen and plenty of young bees will normally fight off wasp attention. Very small, queenless or sick colonies are the ones that get overwhelmed. Focus on colony strength first and then use the defensive measures in this blog.
Are wasps more of a problem at certain times of year
Yes. In spring and early summer, wasps are mainly hunting soft bodied insects to feed their brood and are much less interested in your hives. The real pressure usually comes in late summer and early autumn when natural food sources dry up and the wasp colonies are at their peak population. That is when you need to tighten up entrances and keep the apiary tidy.
Should I feed wasp damaged colonies
If a colony has been heavily robbed by wasps but still has a laying queen and enough bees, then feeding can help it recover. Use a well sealed feeder, reduce the entrance and make sure you are not spilling syrup. Do not feed if wasps are still actively attacking the hive, as you will simply attract more robbing.
Is it possible to wasp proof a hive completely
You will never exclude wasps completely, but you can get very close to making your colonies unattractive targets. Strong colonies, reduced entrances, good apiary hygiene and sensible use of traps will usually mean that wasps test the hive, realise it is too much work, and move on to easier food sources.
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