Wasps Build Rainbow Nests When Given Colored Paper

Wasps are generally considered aggressive, and most of us would rather avoid them. Yet, no one can deny that their nests are true works of art. Paper wasps make them by chewing wood into a pulpy substance and using their saliva to hold it all together.

But can you imagine these nests in the colors of the rainbow?

Mattia Menchetti was still a biology student at the University of Florence when he conducted an experiment that revealed a side of these insects that most of us didn’t know.

Namely, he provided different colored paper shades to European Paper wasps, and the outcome is pure magic!

Menchetti initially gave the wasps bits of yellow paper, and gradually introduced more multicolored sheets, and the hard-working wasps made their own kaleidoscopic, sturdy homes to house their larvae!

He shared the result on Notula Zoologica, and people found the rainbow-colored nests fascinating!

Accidental human interference with the insect world causes equally fascinating results. For instance, in 2012, French beekeepers were shocked when they found green and blue honey produced by their bees. It was later discovered that the insects were using sugar collected from the shells of M&Ms at a waste-processing plant nearby.