I found a large wasp in my house today in February. We know from the lifecycle of social wasps that mated queens are the only members of a hive to survive the winter. February is too late in the winter for anything but a queen to still be alive. Below, I dissect the wasp, showing

Alimentary canal:

  • crop
  • proventriculus
  • ventriculus
  • small intenstine
  • malpighian tubules
  • rectum

Sex organs:

  • ovarioles with eggs
  • spermatheca
  • possible spermatazoa from the spermatheca

Nervous system:

  • nerves and ganglia

Other systems:

  • the sting