Dave Bevan / Common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) adding material to nest, Carmarthenshire, Wales, UK, July.

Ingo Arndt / Common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) detail of nest surface, Hessen, Germany, April.

John Abbott / Paper wasp (Polistes metricus) flying from flower, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, USA Controlled conditions. September

Alex Hyde / Common Wasps (Vespula vulgaris) feeding on a pot of jam, photographed against a white background. Derbyshire, UK. September.

Morley Read / Eusoical wasps (Polybia) swarming from the entrance of their nest hanging under a leaf, Napo Province, Ecuadorian Amazon. (non-ex)

Morley Read / Eusocial wasps (Polybia) at the entrance of their nest hanging under a leaf, Napo Province, the Ecuadorian Amazon. (non-ex)

Morley Read / Eusocial wasps (Polybia) swarming from the entrance of their nest hanging under a leaf, Napo Province, Ecuadorian Amazon. (non-ex)

Chris Mattison / Green wasp (Ropalidia sp), two, one guarding nest. Andasibe-Mantadia National Park, Madagascar.

Chris Mattison / Green wasp (Ropalidia sp), two, one guarding nest. Andasibe-Mantadia National Park, Madagascar.

Heather Angel / Hornet raiding Wasp brood on nest attached to bamboo stem. Wasps moving to top of nest. Shunan Zhuhai National Park, Sichuan Province, China.

Nick Upton / European wasps (Vespula germanica) entering and leaving an underground nest, with one removing an injured grub, Wiltshire, England, UK, July.

Nick Upton / European wasps (Vespula germanica) entering and leaving an underground nest, with some removing balls of soil, Wiltshire, England, UK, July.