Paper wasps, hornets, and yellowjackets are part of the Vespidae family and provide crucial ecological services such as pollination, predation, and parasitism. Without them, we would be overrun with insect pests, and they play a crucial role in controlling pest populations such as caterpillars and beetles that can damage crops and plants.
Paper wasps and yellowjackets are beneficial insects that feed on caterpillars and other insects that could damage crops or ornamental plants in your garden. They are also important for effective pest control and pollination. However, proper handling is essential, as their sting can cause severe harm.
Pattern wasps are valuable natural controls and contribute to population regulation of caterpillars, as well as other insects. They pollinate fruits and vegetables and even eat garden pests like nuisance caterpillars. Although they may make people nervous about their stings, paper wasps are considered beneficial to agriculture, as they feed abundantly on corn and feed their young corn earworms.
Northern paper wasps are known to prey on various insects, and they are attracted to flowers where the insects they hunt are also found. This allows them to feed on nectar and carry out their beneficial functions.
In conclusion, paper wasps, hornets, and yellowjackets are essential for maintaining the native ecosystem and providing essential ecological services.
| Article | Description | Site |
|---|---|---|
| Are Paper Wasps Beneficial in the Garden? | Paper wasps are beneficial insects that are a natural part of the native ecosystem and play an important role in pollination and pest population control. | deepgreenpermaculture.com |
| Paper wasp dilemma, destroy or defend? … | Paper wasps are fierce predators and turn pests like fall webworm caterpillars into food for developing nest mates. | bugoftheweek.com |
| Living With Beneficial Paper Wasps – The Nature In Us | Paper Wasps are considered beneficial to agriculture, since they feed abundantly on corn earworms, armyworms, tobacco hornworms, harmful caterpillars, etc. | thenatureinus.com |
📹 Are Paper Wasp Beneficial For Your Garden?
Red wasp or paper wasp are good for your garden. They eat alot of pest each year. Here is a few facts about the paper wasp you …
What Is The Problem With Paper Wasps?
Homeowners often encounter issues with paper wasps when disturbing their concealed nests. Unlike honey bees, which can sting just once, wasps can sting multiple times to defend their territory. Most people experience mild reactions to paper wasp stings, but some may be allergic to their venom. These social insects will protect their nests aggressively, particularly when disturbed, but are generally not aggressive when away from their nests. They are attracted to sweet scents, making flowers, fruit trees, and food at summer gatherings common attractions.
Signs of a paper wasp infestation include sightings of their nests and wasps flying nearby. Paper wasps contribute to the ecosystem by preying on pests like caterpillars. Their stings, intended for defense, can be painful and potentially harmful to mammals, including humans, who may experience severe reactions. Potential entry points for wasps include cracks in structures, gaps around doors and windows, and spaces between fixtures or eaves. While paper wasps defend their nests seriously, they can be deterred through eco-friendly methods.
For safety, homeowners are advised to remove nests before they provoke a defensive response from the wasps. If assistance is needed for removal, contacting a professional pest control service like Orkin is recommended. Proper prevention and identification are key to managing paper wasp infestations effectively.
Are Paper Wasps Good For Anything?
Wasps, particularly paper wasps, are often underrated yet highly beneficial insects that play a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance and promoting biodiversity. Belonging to the Vespidae family alongside hornets and yellowjackets, paper wasps excel as natural predators, primarily targeting various caterpillars such as corn earworms, armyworms, loopers, and hornworms. These caterpillars, if left unchecked, can cause significant damage to crops and garden plants, making paper wasps invaluable for agricultural and home garden pest control.
Northern Paper Wasps, a notable species, are especially effective in preying on pests that hinder the growth of certain crops. By capturing and consuming these harmful insects, paper wasps help reduce the need for chemical pesticides, fostering a healthier and more sustainable environment. Additionally, paper wasps contribute to pollination by feeding on the nectar of flowers, aiding in the transfer of pollen and supporting the growth of fruits and vegetables.
Paper wasps typically build their nests in trees and bushes around homes and gardens. These nests are often umbrella-shaped and composed of a papery material, reflecting their name. Unlike their European counterparts, paper wasps form small colonies that are generally less aggressive, only becoming defensive when their nests are threatened. This behavior allows them to coexist peacefully with humans, provided they are left undisturbed.
Despite their beneficial nature, paper wasps may sometimes build nests in inconvenient locations, necessitating careful management to avoid conflicts. However, their ecological advantages far outweigh the occasional nuisances. By maintaining a balance between predation of pests and pollination, paper wasps ensure the health and productivity of both natural ecosystems and cultivated gardens. Embracing these remarkable insects from a safe distance can lead to thriving landscapes free from excessive pest infestations.
Can Paper Wasps Recognize You?
By Krisy Gashler, researchers have found that the paper wasp species Polistes fuscatus has developed specialized cognitive abilities to recognize and remember individual faces among their peers. Golden paper wasps lead complex social lives with demanding hierarchies, requiring them to track numerous individual faces to maintain their social order. Studies conducted at the University of Michigan revealed that these wasps can differentiate and recall faces with remarkable accuracy, akin to human facial recognition.
This ability is shaped by the specific ecological needs of the species, enabling northern paper wasps to recognize neighbors and distinguish individuals both on and off nests, which is crucial for their social interactions. Unlike yellow jackets and other wasps that typically do not chase unless their nests are threatened, paper wasps rely on facial recognition to manage relationships within their colonies effectively. This discovery challenges the conventional belief that face recognition necessitates a complex mammalian brain, demonstrating that insects like paper wasps and honeybees, despite having relatively small brains, can perform sophisticated cognitive tasks.
These findings underscore the importance of individual face recognition in the social lives of P. fuscatus, allowing them to remember unique facial patterns essential for their interactions and hierarchical structures.
Do Paper Wasps Recognize People?
Individual face recognition is crucial in the social lives of Polistes fuscatus paper wasps, as they learn and remember unique facial patterns of numerous individuals both on and off their nests. These wasps display impressive accuracy in recognizing and differentiating each other's faces through variations in facial markings. Moreover, they exhibit more aggressive behavior toward unfamiliar wasps, indicating the importance of this recognition. Their cognitive processing of facial features resembles that of humans, highlighting their advanced social intelligence.
While different species of paper wasps exhibit varying degrees of facial recognition ability, research emphasizes that the golden paper wasp must adeptly manage complex social hierarchies by memorizing individual faces. Recent studies reveal that their evolution over millennia has led to specialized cognitive abilities that enable them to recognize one another effectively.
Investigations at the University of Michigan have confirmed that paper wasps possess significant facial recognition skills, drawing parallels to human capabilities. Prior research by Tibbetts also illustrates that these wasps can discern individuals by their facial traits, suggesting that their impressive memory might be integral to understanding social order. Northern paper wasps, with their distinct black and yellow facial patterns, exemplify this recognition, further emphasizing that their adaptations are likely self-serving, aimed at navigating complex social structures.
Consequently, this advanced facial recognition not only reflects their cognitive prowess but may also enhance their adaptability and social interactions within their communities, akin to how social environments can influence cognitive diversity among animals.
Are Paper Wasps Good Pollinators?
Paper wasps are social insects renowned for constructing intricate nests from paper fibers and raising their young communally. Although their presence can evoke fear, especially among those who associate wasps with aggression, paper wasps play a crucial role in the ecosystem as highly beneficial pollinators. They primarily feed on nectar and are frequently found around flowers such as goldenrod, as well as in woodlands and fields. Their diet isn’t limited to nectar; they also consume other insects like aphids and scale insects, which helps manage pest populations in gardens and agricultural settings.
Contrary to the common misconception that all wasps are aggressive and a nuisance, many species contribute positively to pollination and environmental health. Wasps are essential pollinators alongside bees and butterflies, transferring pollen as they move from flower to flower in search of nectar. Although paper wasps lack specialized pollen baskets or extensive body hair, they still effectively pollinate plants, aiding in the reproduction of various flowering species. Additionally, certain wasps, such as fig wasps, are highly specialized pollinators, exclusively facilitating the pollination of fig trees.
Beyond their pollination efforts, wasps serve as important predators that help control populations of harmful insects like caterpillars and web worms. By preying on these pests, wasps support the health of gardens and crops, making them valuable allies in natural pest control. Furthermore, wasps contribute to environmental cleanliness by acting as scavengers, helping to break down and recycle organic matter.
Overall, wasps, including paper wasps, are indispensable to both pollination and pest management. Their dual role in maintaining plant health and controlling insect populations underscores their importance in sustaining our food supply and promoting ecological balance. Greater recognition of their benefits can foster a more appreciative and harmonious coexistence with these often misunderstood insects.
What Happens If A Paper Wasp Stings You?
Paper wasp stings, while painful, are typically not serious, though they can cause severe reactions like anaphylaxis in some individuals. Common symptoms include redness, swelling, and itching at the sting site, with rare cases leading to more severe allergic reactions such as difficulty breathing, hives, and facial swelling. Severe allergic reactions may manifest as swelling of the face or throat, hives or itching in unaffected areas, breathing difficulties, dizziness, and gastrointestinal distress. Unlike bees, paper wasps can sting multiple times because they do not lose their stinger, injecting venom with each sting.
It's essential to wash the affected area with soap and water immediately after a sting. While most people recover quickly without complications, treatment and awareness of severe allergic reactions are crucial. It's advisable to learn the differences between wasp and bee stings, first aid measures, home remedies, and when to seek medical assistance. The venomous sting of the paper wasp can be life-threatening for those with allergies.
Wasp stings vary in severity from mild discomfort to severe pain and life-threatening reactions. Safety is paramount, especially when a wasp nest is near homes. If stung, cleaning the wound and elevating a limb can help alleviate discomfort. Individuals previously experiencing anaphylaxis from insect stings are at heightened risk for severe reactions. If attacked by wasps, it’s recommended to cover one’s head and seek shelter.
Symptoms like rapid heartbeat, shock, hives, abdominal cramps, and swelling should prompt immediate medical attention. Overall, wasp stings usually cause pain, swelling, and discomfort, but most stings are not emergencies, with mild cases resolving in a few days.
What Kills Paper Wasps Instantly?
Ordinary liquid soap in a spray bottle has proven to be as effective as any products I've tried for killing wasps around the house. Chemical insecticides can also be used for instant results. Wasp sprays, specially formulated for this purpose, should be aimed directly at the wasp from a safe distance for immediate effect. Quickly treating a wasp colony with pest control methods is essential. If you see wasps building nests, it is important to act.
One practical approach involves mixing dawn dish soap with water and spraying it on wasps in the evening, then removing the nest. For repelling wasps, peppermint oil diluted in water is effective as a natural deterrent. In addition to ready-to-use wasp sprays, traps can be utilized for catching them. Products like Yates Home Pest Blitzem! Wasp Killer work swiftly to kill wasps and destroy their nests.
Alternatively, you can use homemade sprays, such as a mixture of dish soap and water, to kill individual wasps. Identifying the nest's location is key to using powder insecticides effectively to eliminate the colony.
Are Paper Wasps Worse Than Yellow Jackets?
Yellowjackets are notably more aggressive than paper wasps, primarily due to their defensive and territorial nature. They vigorously protect their nests and are prone to unprovoked stinging, especially when their colony is threatened. Yellowjackets often engage in swarm attacks if their nest faces disturbance, making them notorious pests at picnics and outdoor gatherings. Their colonies are typically larger and more robust, often nesting underground, which contributes to their heightened aggressiveness. Additionally, yellowjackets employ effective defense mechanisms, including "guards" at nest entrances, and respond aggressively to rapid movements or vibrations near their habitat.
In contrast, paper wasps are generally less aggressive. They have longer, slender bodies with muted yellow-brown tones and construct visible, umbrella-shaped nests that are easier to spot. Paper wasps are beneficial pollinators and usually avoid humans, only stinging when they feel directly threatened. Their nests are smaller, and the wasps themselves are more delicate, making rapid disturbances less likely to provoke a defensive response. European paper wasps, however, can be more easily provoked than other paper wasps and may sting more readily if someone approaches their nest.
Both yellowjackets and paper wasps exhibit aggression when defending their nests and can become more irritable as colder weather approaches in the fall. Despite their similarities in appearance, such as yellow and black coloration and slender bodies, yellowjackets are distinctively more aggressive and likely to sting compared to the calmer and more evasive paper wasps. Understanding these differences is crucial for managing interactions with these wasps and mitigating potential stings.
📹 Why wasps are just as wonderful as bees BBC Ideas
Unlike bees, wasps are not exactly the most-loved creatures, but they are hugely important to the eco-system – and all of us.
A few years ago we had a webworm problem in our pecan trees. Those large web tents, containing a LOT of webworms. One day I saw a wasp land on the web ‘tent’, cut into it with it’s jaws, go inside and grab a worm. It flew back to it’s nest, and apparently let the others wasps know, that there was a food source there. Then several wasps flew back to the web tent and retrieved worms. They spent that entire afternoon coming back to the webworms again and again until the worms were COMPLETELY GONE from that particular web tent. Very impressive, so as a result, I never kill wasps or destroy their nests anymore.
Wasps are very misunderstood. They’re beautiful creatures with amazing colours. I often sit down and hand feed them by putting honey and jam on my hand, and just watch several of them eat from me. As long as you remain calm and still, they’ll happily eat away without harming you. They now view me as a friend and a provider of food for them, and I feel they would look after me in return.
I’m a beekeeper. I get stung by my bees all the time. But I don’t hate them. They’re simply defending themselves. Same logic applies to wasps. They only defend themselves — they aren’t capable of feeling anger or hate, only threatened and defensive. Just because wasps sometimes inconvenience humans doesn’t mean they aren’t worthy of respect and appreciation, they are critical for the ecosystem. Humans need to stop being selfish and hateful just because some animals defend themselves and/or have a stinger. Boo hoo. Lots of animals are capable of harming us including dogs who sometimes attack and kill humans, doesn’t mean they should be “eradicated”. The world doesn’t revolve around us. Not to mention, most people base their opinion on wasps on a small handful of social stinging wasps, when in reality there are thousands and thousands of wasps and most are solitary. Not all wasps even sting. We use parasitoid wasps all the time in agriculture to control pests that would otherwise decimate our food supply. I actually feed wasps honey or a bit of apple slices by hand when I find them in my garden and none ever stung me. Wasps are awesome, cool and important!
Many people need to be educated about this. I see a lot of people saying that we should kill all wasps. They say wasps kill bees. I don’t think so. Expect some certain species like the Asian giant and yellow-legged hornet, wasps have just a minor effect on beehives. Yes, wasps shouldn’t be too many but when you have a healthy hornet population, it will keep the smaller wasps in normal amounts.
Wasps are really cool critters. Very good hunters. If you don’t bother them, they don’t bother you. One time I was sitting on a park bench drinking sugary beverage, and a wasp landed on my hand, just chilling and resting. I obviously fed her some of my drink, and it was most fascinating to watch her slurp the tiny droplet. Kinda cute too.
I love wasps, they’re adorable. Once, when I was little, I saw an albino wasp. She was pink and white striped. She was stuck in the lake we were swimming in, but my Mom and I rescued her, we put her on a log and when she dried off enough she flew away. We didn’t have a camera with us, so I have no proof – I would swear it was a dream if my Mom didn’t remember her too! I called her Candy Cane. I’ve searched and searched online, but seen no photos of pink and white wasps – was she the only one, I wonder? I’ve never been stung by a wasp. I’ve been stung by bees three times, and all three were my own stupid fault for not looking where I was going – or literally picking one up by the wing (I thought she was dead. She wasn’t. She didn’t die, I managed to get her stinger unstuck from my finger, and she made it okay!) ~Cat~ P.S. this is adorable, and I love this article! …but what’s with the anti-spider propaganda‽ Spiders are important for many of the same reasons as wasps are, and the vast majority of them are totally harmless.
My grandma always had a wasp nest on the balcony and she would always tell us that they helped her in the garden. To my best memory nobody ever got stung despite ten grandchildren running wild. The wasps just buzzed around, ate pests, and built truly amazing structures for their homes. My grandma was pretty in love with them and would gush over how cool their nests were and how helpful they were. I was never afraid of wasps.
I have a paper wasp nest on my front porch. I spent all year approaching them with various fruit jellies and sometimes honey (as a treat). They actually recognize people! They get excited when I approach, and have became neutral to humans in general (which was the point, so they wouldn’t attack anyone). This fall, 6 of them hatched with defects that made them unable to fly, so I took them in as pets. I can handle them casually and they’re very calm. 10/10 would recommend a flightless wasp as a pet. One, you realize how adorable they are. Two, they can recognize and learn things. Three, you’re saving a life, since they wouldn’t have survived otherwise. The rest are wild, though. Don’t take any random wasp in as a pet. lol
In my town, farms aren’t using pesticides but instead use methods to attract parasitoid wasps and paper wasps to deal with crop pests. With that said, during summer in my backyard – I sometimes see one or two mud daubers or those large solitary wasps resting on the mulberry bush after they drank the nectar from the nearby flowering shrubs.
I’ve always liked them, even though they’ve bitten me before. One once landed on my dashboard on a hot day. I poured out a little bit of my blueberry smoothie (just a few drops) and watched her drink it up…. then she flew out the window. She watched me. Did not see me as a threat at all. It was a really nice interaction. It SUCKS when you stumble upon a nest and get attacked, but they’ve always been beneficial in my yard; I’ve seen them decimate nuisance beetles in my siding, coming and going from a tiny hole all summer. They moved into a railroad tie in the backyard, after they ate all the beetles in the siding (they move each December) then a skunk came along and ate every one of them, including all their larvae. Nature did its thing, and it was really neat to watch. Wasps (apparently) nest in one place for a season then move. At least the ones here do.
I was doing some site work at a bank, went back to my work truck to grab some measuring tools, and quickly realized that my tailgate was right under a pretty big wasp’s nest. It scared the shit out of me. I quickly out everything back on my truck and got in and drove way away from the nest. Wasps scare the shit out of me.
They are actually very sweet. I did not read this somewhere, I know this from personal experience. Shocked the heck out of me, they’re friendly and very chill, like bees. I spend a lot of time outdoors and got to know these brilliant little beings by accident. I will never be afraid of them again. Lovely smol people.
This is not the wasp problem. This is the everything problem of people being selfish. The reason why people often harm nature is that they are looking at the organisms from the wrong angle. Just that something is “bad” for people (annoying, it bites/stings me, it stings my dog etc.) doesn’t mean that it is bad in general. The best we can do is to stop killing things without making sure that it doesn’t harm nature. For example, assuming that a kind of butterfly aways eats my fav flower, I can do two things: Protect the flower or kill all butterflies I see. But if I kill the butterflies, it may harm nature. And when the ecosystem is harmed, it is often hard to repair and get it to the state where it was before. So, why not to put the flower in my house, where it won’t get eaten? The same is the wasps: Many people here in Bohemia are very annoyed of wasps. I love wasps, and I’ve never had a problem with them. They aren’t friendlier to me than to the annoyed ppl, it is just that I look at them differently. I also hear that buzzing around my ear, I also feel that pain when it stings me. But I also know that animal, so I don’t strike out in fear – because I know why it stung me, and I can avoid that happening again. And when it buzzes around my ear, I laugh at it, because I know it won’t sting me.
People need to stop putting bees above wasps. Just because they attack bees and people isn’t any reason to take down wasps and lift up bees. If wasps didn’t exist, there wouldn’t be any plants for the bees to pollinate because of all the pest insects. So it’s sort of like nature’s own team task force. So for all the people who say that wasps and hornets are bad and bees are good, you are dead to not only me but nature itself and everyone else who cares about wasps and all the animals in the world(insects included)
Southern Yellowjackets in particular are very curious and docile unless you swat or smack them, or bang on their nest. Polistes carolina is an enigma, they can be fine for years coexisting then suddenly sting you out of nowhere. Ive saved countless wasps and bees from pools and ive only ever been stung by red paper wasp or Polistes carolina.
this is a tragic story … one time i was at my pool right? so this GIANT wasp comes close to our sister ( i’m allergic to wasps so is my sister ) so we go under water to avoid the wasp from stinging us but it was SO mad at us bcuz we accidentally splashed it…so we could not breathe and she was keeping staying there, we almost died…then the KING ( my grandpa ) came in and KILLED it…to this day i still thank him for killing it ( shoutout to my grandpa btw )
It’s always really disturbing to me when I hear people say “we should just kill all wasps/mosquitoes/parasites/etc” like.. do y’all remember learning about the food web literally at all?? They teach you that stuff for a reason; the stability of the world’s ecosystem depends on animals thought of as mean or harmful or gross just as much as any other animal. And you may think “well I’m just one person, how would I disrupt the food web” until you realize that the great majority of people vehemently hate bugs and will do everything in their power to make sure they stay away from human infrastructure; from cities to suburbs to farms and backyards—which breeds massive demand for the insecticide industry, which kills and threatens countless species of vital animals. You don’t have to like them or invite them into your house, but so many people fail to grasp how crucial and irreplaceable insects are—or how fragile their existence has become. Thank you for this article.
As a child my dad always taught my to stay still, let Bees or Wasps sniff around me because they’ll always just fly off and let me be. He was totally correct until a school sports day when I leant back and put my hands on the grass and unfortunately I happened to squish a wasp which stung my hand and fk it hurt and since then I’ve been completely pathetic about anything bee/wasp near me! Ridiculous?!!!!
I’ve never had a problem with wasps. I was once coming back from Bolton on a hot day, after visiting my sibling. A wasp got stuck on the bus. Yes I was scarred in the moment as I feared being stung, but truth be told I don’t think it wanted to sting anyone. It just wanted freedom from the confines of the bus. I have had them fly around me whilst outside and I’ve never been strung on any of those occasions. I think they where just curious about me. The insect would requires a lot more love and understanding from people.
Wasps are very interesting insects. Although they are not as good as bees, they do pollinate many crops and plants like figs. And they help control pest insect populations. Can they be aggressive? yes but that’s only because they are trying to protect the colony from predators or from perceived threats. It’s not that they attack us but we attack and bother them first and provoke them to attack. People just need to be careful, watch where they are going and leave them alone. These insects are so under-appreciated and misunderstood and there is more to learn about them. From the common yellow jackets to the Executioner Wasp and many more, wasps are very interesting. They do have purposes in the ecosystem and they can be useful. And bees evolved from wasps so not only are you hating on wasps but you are hating on bees.
Man… after seeing this article I can now finally say that wasps….. still suck.If I see a wasp outside my house I’m killing it with anything that’s next to me. I shot down a wasp nest with my slingshot earlier and after this article I feel a little bad, but not that bad.But I do want a wasp plushie after seeing this article….Where do I get one?
I have a reincarnated spirit guide who always comes to me in the form of a wasp, I call her Brittany, she is very wise comforting and loving. She always watch over my garden, and once she stung me because I was going through something emotionally and I was neglecting all of my plant babies :(. She woke me up from that slump state. Wasps are very special to me now I REFUSE to kill them, I will always release them.
There were a metric ton of assumptions made in this article, and it involves how specialized wasps can be. For one, Yellow Jackets are the most commonly cited and most hated wasp in general. They are predators but difficult to eliminate their nests as well as not friendly to bees. Aside from them and hornets, every wasp from the fig, parasitic, pollinating and exotic kinds are not an annoyance to humans and are in fact generally unseen creatures: some are nearly as small as micro-animals! The point is that just because wasps are vital creatures to all ecosystems doesn’t mean every single species can be seen as a threat to human wellbeing. Almost all of them don’t behave aggressively at all toward humans with more specific targets. In fact, they could be considered assassins of the insect world. No, instead the issue is the behavior of the aggressive wasp species toward humans. Whereas the other wasp species could care less, most hornet and yellow jacket wasps have adapted to nest on the convenient pockets in human houses. Inevitably they would be comfortable with doing this despite the majority of wasps either caring less or just not being as vicious towards humans. So if any species were to be eliminated or fundamentally changed solely for our convenience and benefit it would specifically be the ones relying on our infrastructure so to train the species to not best around our structures. Kill the ones that do and keep the ones that don’t alive. It’s Artificial Darwinism. If you really don’t know what I’m talking about, this article assumes that Vespinae, the subfamily of large wasps containing true hornets and yellow jackets represent wasps the best.
I just killed 6 of them and I feel no remorse whatsoever. In fact I’m celebrating. It’s been an ongoing war on my back porch of my apartment. I’ve got yellow jackets,wasps,paper wasps, hornets and now giant Asian hornets. It’s a mixture of them and there’s alot of them. No nests but I think that’s because they’re in the 2 trees hanging over my porch. Either way, I hate them damn things!😂😂
I’ve just gave a wasp two baths. The first one was educational 8n a cold coffee because I let her wander on my hands but she wanted to try my face too. Then I let her slowly dry and clean herself and I decided that all the caffeine may be too much for her so I showered her with clean water. After a cute cleanup she went off. Hornets are kinda scary tho. I cant do that. Maybe one day
I have been stung by a yellow jacket when I was little but I never hated them because I know I was deliberately messing with them and provoking them. Wasps are nice and they will only attack for defense or if threatened. People keep using personal experiences to justify the fact they are bad when in reality, they just want to believe everything they say. Wasps pollinate but they aren’t really good at it. Fig wasps are a good example of this. Wasps also take care of pest insect populations which intern helps the bees since they also are the ones pollinating the flowers and plants so every insect in its ecosystem excluding mosquitoes has its purpose.
I’ve hated wasps since I’ve been told they will sting anybody and I’ve only been stung by three wasps while a few other wasps didn’t attack me which had me fear and hate them until perusal this article and seeing a few articles which changed my mind that they aren’t that bad as I once believed. I’m glad that me being curious decided to watch articles about wasps to learn about them or else I would still fear and hate them
I love wasps. On our property, we let the wasps live. They eat a lot of pest bugs and because of the several wasp colonies on our property, are yard and house are pretty much fly and other pest free. I grew so attached to our wasps, I find them extremely cute. Plus they’re pollinators, all In all, I just love wasps
I’ve been scared of wasps for… Well, forever, basically. And for ” good ” reasons, I’m allergic and so, this sucks. But I’m also French, and well, in France, bakeries are everywhere, and with bakeries, sugar. And i got ” vaccinated ” because i work in a bakery to make some money before leaving the country. Being surrounded by them made me less scared and more interested, sometimes i spend 10 to 20 minutes just perusal them doing their thing. Once you get used to them, they’re not that bad. Hell, sometimes, they land on me, my hands and stuffs, the only place where i ” dodge ” them, is when they go around my fave, i don’t like that. But hey, they’re cool in the end.
The lower the bug the better it is Wasp when at war they rank 2 they ranked a 1 when it comes to social they also ranked a 1 when it comes to living wasp can’t even live for a year cuz of winter. Bee when at war they rank 1 when it comes to social they rank a 2 and when it comes to living they rank a 2 at least bees can actually live through winter Ants rank a 3 in battle they also rank a 3 when it comes to social and also they rank a 3 when it comes to living they live for a very long time.
Reasons I hate wasps and their similar counterparts, giant hornets: Wasps and hornets kill bees affecting polenisation and honey production, I myself as a Romanian, I hate European hornets as they seem to eat the leaves of my flowers while wasps infest my house and guess who catches them? Spiders, my dear friends While also… The wasps and the giant hornets, they eat the steak I feed my cat. Now this is not really a reason I hate them but a problem, The gate to my house is atleast 7 meters from a 11km long lake that is full of wasps and queen wasps drinking the water and also a forest that is home to the hornets, I just today killed two wasp queens inside my home and spotted a really aggressive queen hornet atleast 2 inches length inside my garden because of the really hot temperature outside. Yes wasps are really good for me and my country that doesn’t use them for polenisation
I’ve had wasp nests near my house, generally I don’t bother them and they don’t bother me. I often see them searching the plants for bugs, and getting water from the bird bath in the summer heat. I even hung a small box near a bee hotel, which the wasps obligingly used and that kept their home out of the way.
I have a colony growing in my front yard by the main entrance to the house. They used to create their hives but never grow too much but the difference now I think is the water I put for my outdoor cats. I see wasps coming down and drink and now the hive is getting bigger. My dad wants to get rid of them but I don’t want to hurt them. I don’t know if were gonna be able to live with them. They’re scary because they can get aggressive real quick if bothered by accident so I don’t know what to do. I know they have to be good for something worth the risk. They haven’t bothered us yet but they may in the future but in a way they bring life to my yard I think.
I got stung 2 or 3 times by these things when I was at the countryside so we’re not quit friends. Plus they sting you for no reasons. But never by a bee. Never. And there is that huge fly, which is not a fly but same appearance (that has a diff name) that stings too. My mom went to the doctor because of that horrible thing. Un taon in French we call that