Paper Wasp

About the Paper Wasp

They make paper by chewing wood fibers mixed with saliva - humans did not invent paper until 2,000 years later. They can recognize individual face patterns, one of the few insects with proven facial recognition ability. Each colony member knows every other member individually. They are important natural pest controllers, feeding caterpillars to their young. They build open-comb nests without an outer envelope. Their venom contains a compound that cancer cells are particularly sensitive to.