The illustration on the cover of Oracle Parallel Processing is a wasp and a wasp nest. As their name implies, paper wasps make their nests out of paper, or rather, chewed wood and plant particles combined with saliva to make a paper-like paste. Wasp nests are usually the size of a person's outstretched palm and are shaped like an umbrella. They hang under building eaves, roofs, and tree branches and are constructed with multiple tiers of vertical cells. The young then produce a saliva that is 50 times more nutritious than the original nectar.
Adults complete the cycle by receiving that saliva from the young.
Female wasps are capable of inflicting a painful sting on humans, causing swelling and redness for a few hours. This life-threatening allergic reaction causes hives, severe swelling, blocked airways, circulatory failure, and possibly death. Approximately 50 people die in the U.S. each year from anaphylactic shock caused by a sting. Wasps, unlike honeybees, can sting multiple times. Honeybees can sting only once since their stingers have barbs, causing the stinger to remain in the skin and detach from the bee, effectively killing it.