How quickly things change. For months there’s nothing like an insect to be found - so much so the problems bugs present fade far into the background - but after only a few days of warm sunshine they’re back. Back in sufficient numbers to give serious thought to putting up the screens on the porch again and wondering just how bad a year it’s going to be. Some of the first insects out each year are the wasps and this year is no exception.
Throughout the world there are about 25,000 species of insect that fall into the common grouping known as wasps. All have distinct life stages after undergoing metamorphosis between each one. In the final stage, adults have two separate abdominal segments separated by a thin waist. Well over half of the recognized species are parasitic, feeding on insect eggs, adults and spiders too.
There are lots of variation in body type, feeding, and habitat of all these different wasps with some being very social colonial species such like our common Yellow Jacket while others are solitary like the Mud Wasp. All young feed on other insects and most adults are carnivorous preferring meat however there are a few vegetation eating species too.
Those fascinating paper like nests we quickly learn to recognize are made from masticated or “chewed up” fibres and vary among different species. Yellow Jackets make a multilayered ball that by the end of the season can be as big as 20 cm while paper wasps make an umbrella like nest that is open and relatively flat. It’s even been proposed to change the name Paper Wasps to Umbrella Wasps because many different species build a nest out of paper-like fibres.
Only the females survive the winter so in the case of Yellow Jackets a single female starts to build the nest, lay her eggs that were fertilized the previous fall and raise the first batch of young all by herself. After that those workers born this season will assist in all duties such as raising young and expanding and defending the nest and the Queen will concentrate on laying eggs which becomes her sole job.
Another common wasp we have around is the Mud Dauber. These are the wasps that build tube-like brood chambers on the sides of buildings. They are not particularly aggressive and are beneficial in controlling spiders. After having built the brood chamber an adult will capture and paralyze a spider, place it in the chamber and lay an egg on it. The young then hatches with a ready food supply close by. If you find an open chamber it means the young have already left.
Yellow Jackets and Paper Wasps have become quite well adapted to living in close proximity to humans and both can be periodically aggressive. Control can become an issue especially with folks who are sensitive to the Histamine contained in the wasp venom. Whatever you do never squash a Yellow Jacket within about 15 feet of the nest or any other wasp. This immediately releases a pheromone into the air that within seconds alerts all other nearby wasps to come and help their dying colony member and you will be in significantly increased danger of being stung multiple times.
There are numerous ways of control out on the market of both toxic and non toxic varieties. An age old method involves a specially made and reusable glass jar (of course there are cheap plastic versions too) with a hole in the bottom and top. The top is corked but because of the design the jar will still hold some liquid. The wasps are attracted to a sweet, aromatic liquid such as lemonade then fly up into the hanging jar and drown. Placing a small amount of raw meat in the jar has some added benefits to attracting the wasps too.
As always, it’s about balance. Wasps have their place in the big scheme of things just as we do. Enjoying life outside means we will regularly come in contact with insect life. Besides good spider and other insect control many species of wasp are very important pollinators around the world and so critical in ways we don’t always recognize. That’s worth remembering as the warm season progresses and we have more and more encounters with all this wonderful planet has to offer.
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