Ultrastructural and chemical examination of paper and pedicel from laboratory and field nests of the social waspPolistes metricus say.

The ultrastructure and chemical composition of paper and pedicel from nests ofPolistes metricus that were constructed in the laboratory from known building material were compared to paper and pedicel from nests constructed in the field. Scanning electron micrographs showed the addition of a gluelike secretion from the wasp to the construction material. Solid-state [(13)C]NMR, elemental analyses, and amino acid analyses indicate that this secretion is a silklike protein with serine, glycine, alanine, and proline comprising 65-73% of the identified residues.