Let’s dissect a wasp nest together virtually! Together with Nancy Lee, Museum Interpreter, we’ll unravel the mysteries inside the beautiful paper layers of an aerial yellowjacket’s nest (Dolichovespula arenaria). It’ll also be a great opportunity to ask any wasp and insect questions, and better understand the colony life of an often misunderstood but fascinating social insect.
For the full dissection experience, you may be interested in recording our data with drawings, labels, and notes about what we find in this particular nest as you are watching. Here is an example data sheet that you can fill in with your observations or maybe you already have your own field notebook that you like to use for your nature observations. You can also colour in the wasp anatomy diagram.
Yellowjacket wasps (Dolichovespula arenaria) and nest in thorny tree or shrub. Photo from Wikimedia Commons user xpda. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dolichovespula_arenaria_P1050601b.jpg
This specimen-focused chat with a museum interpreter is recommended for visitors of all ages! If your child hasn’t used zoom before, or needs help with typing, occasional support from an adult or older sibling may be helpful. You’ll have opportunity to ask questions if you join us live! Note that this wasp nest was found and salvaged, and not removed for this activity.
Join all of the Beaty@Home sessions from anywhere around the world. All you need is an internet connection. You can join us on Zoom or on Facebook live! You can also call in over telephone, simply register below for the Zoom link and the list of numbers. Click here to register!
If you would like to contribute to the museum, you can pay what you can on the registration page. In addition, we appreciate any donations (tax-deductible), purchasing a membership, planning to visit in person, and sharing information about the museum with friends and family. Thank you for your support of the Beaty Biodiversity Museum!