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How to fold an origami paper wasp

Pleat a yellow strip into a head, a slim chest and a long back end joined by a pinched waist, with stripe ledges and a sharp sting. Fold a pale piece into a V of swept-back wings.

You need: A 4.5 × 15 cm yellow strip and a 14 × 5.6 cm pale blue piece; scissors, glue and a black pen. Hard, 24 steps, about 30 minutes.

Steps

  1. Waist: bottom up. Stand the yellow strip up, yellow side up. Fold the bottom up on a crease 9.8 cm from the bottom.
  2. Snip the waist. Snip along the bottom fold from each side, stopping 4 mm from the middle. Only this thin bit will join the chest to the back end.
  3. Shape the back end. On the flap, fold the two corners next to the fold up on a slant, from 9 mm either side of the middle to the sides 1.5 cm higher.
  4. Waist: back down. Fold the flap back down on a crease 4 mm above the bottom fold. It hangs below as the long back end.
  5. Head pleat: top down. Fold the top down on a crease 2.5 cm from the top.
  6. Snip the neck. Snip along the top fold from each side, stopping 7.5 mm from the middle.
  7. Head pleat: back up. Fold the flap back up on a crease 4 mm lower. The ledge is the neck, with the head above it.
  8. Slim the chest. Between the neck and the waist, fold both sides behind, 1.5 cm from the middle.
  9. Pinch the waist. Fold the chest's lower sides behind on a slant, down to the end of each waist snip, so it narrows to a thin waist.
  10. Stripe pleat 1: up. Fold the tip of the back end up on a crease 6.5 cm from the bottom.
  11. Stripe pleat 1: down. Fold it back down on a crease 2 mm higher, leaving a ledge.
  12. Stripe pleat 2: up. Fold the tip of the back end up on a crease 4.6 cm from the bottom.
  13. Stripe pleat 2: down. Fold it back down on a crease 2 mm higher, leaving a ledge.
  14. Stripe pleat 3: up. Fold the tip of the back end up on a crease 3.1 cm from the bottom.
  15. Stripe pleat 3: down. Fold it back down on a crease 2 mm higher, leaving a ledge.
  16. Taper the back end. Fold the back end's sides behind on long slants, so it narrows towards the tip.
  17. Fold the sting. Fold the last bit of each side behind on a steeper slant, meeting at the middle in a sharp sting.
  18. Round the head. Fold the head's four corners behind on slants, so the head is round.
  19. Wings. Set the body aside. Take the pale piece, white side up, lying across.
  20. Wings: fold in half. Fold the top half down to the bottom edge, so it's pale blue on both sides.
  21. Wings: round the tips. Fold all four corners behind on slants, so both ends are rounded tips.
  22. Wings: fold a V. Fold the left half over on a slant through the middle, so the wings make a V.
  23. Turn the wings. Turn the wings so the point of the V is at the top and they sweep back.
  24. Glue on the body. Glue the body on top, its chest over the point of the V, so the wings sweep back on both sides of the back end.

Bzzzt!

Colour the chest and a band under each ledge black, then draw big eyes, two long feelers and a black sting tip.

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