Without wasp control, these insects can be a nuisance. They come to our gatherings uninvited, sting multiple times in a row, and interrupt the regular maintenance of our homes. There are over 30,000 wasp species, and each has different markings and body styles. Little do we know, wasps are very important to agriculture, and life in general. Wasps are intelligent and have a very specific way of life. I don’t know if fun is the right word but…here are 10 fun facts about wasps.
Wasp Identifiers
The eyes of a wasp are black and kidney shaped. Wasps have two pairs of wings. The hind wings are smaller than the forewings. They have a pointed body and skinny waist. Wasps have very few hairs on their bodies, unlike their relative, the honey bee, which have thick bodies and fuzzy hair all over.
Wasps Can Identify Other Individuals
We may think all wasps look alike, but on the contrary all wasps have unique facial patterns. Their eye width, pinchers, and color on their face can differentiate one wasp from another. Wasps can also recognize human faces, and will notice their face shapes as well. Much like humans, wasps never forget a face.
Wasps Create Their Own Paper
Paper wasps make their nests by chewing bark and spitting it back out—forming a type of paper. They chew wood fibers and mix it with their saliva until it is a paste like pulp, and spit out the concoction to form building material. They form the pulp into hexagonal shapes, which they then fill with larva and food. After they build the hexagonal interior structure, they build a few layers on top to protect the inside.
Social Wasps vs. Solitary Wasps. Stingers Defense
Solitary wasps can be identified by a smooth and shiny body. Their bodies can range from slender to stout. They can also vary in sizes. They can be less than ½ an inch to 1 ½ inches in length. Solitary wasps use their stingers for hunting, and have a venomous sting. Most human deaths related to wasp stings are the result of immediate hypersensitivity. In individuals who are not allergic to wasp venom, it would take 1,500 wasps stings to be fatal. Solitary wasps are related to insects primarily consisting of thread-waisted wasps and digger wasps. Solitary wasps are not aggressive and rarely sting people.
Social wasps (Such as hornets, yellow jackets and paper wasps live in colonies in a familiar way as bees and ants. Most wasps in the colonies are workers. Worker wasps (much like termites) are the nests non-reproductive females that build the nest, gather food, and care for the offspring. Social wasps use their stingers as defense for the nests, and can sting multiple times. Only female wasps have stingers. Male wasps (also known as drones) patrol around the nest and will show aggressive behavior, but can not sting.
The Many Colors Of Wasps
Wasps can be just about any color imaginable—red, brown, dark brown, orange, white, red-brown, and who can forget the classic yellow and black. They use these colors as warnings to other wasps. The most colorful wasps usually belong to stinging species.
Top Predators Of Other Insects
Wasps prey on spiders, aphids, grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles, crickets, and many others. They are often used as agriculture pest control. In South Africa, farmers use wasps as control for sugar cane borers. Sugar cane borers are moths that lay their larva in sugar cane. The young eat the inside of the sugar cane, and makes the cane unusable. Wasps are often used in greenhouses to attack white flies that attack tomatoes and cucumbers. Yellow jacket wasps eat what humans eat. They eat meat, and are often found in trash bins and around the picnic table satisfying their sweet tooth, by eating the juices of fruits and vegetables—and like many humans, can’t resist a refreshing soda.
Wasps Share Similarities With Bees
Wasps like their close relative the honey bee, are led by a single fertile queen. She is responsible for laying all the eggs for the hive. Wasps and honey bees share the caste system, which is where females are worker bees, and males are drone bees. Wasps also like the honey bee, overwinter. Overwintering is like hibernation during the colder months, but they stay active inside the nest.
Most Wasps Are Dead By Fall
In the fall, all wasps die, except for a few new queens. The new queens move out of the nest to find a warm safe place to overwinter. They spend winter in logs, rooflines, or find a burrow. In the spring, the queens emerge and make new colonies. Wasp colonies tend to spread out, but if they are close together, they will fight one another. Wasp colonies become very territorial when it comes to other insects.
Importance Of Wasps To Agriculture
Wasps are often used for agriculture. Wasps eat the “bad” bugs. Gardeners are often encouraged to allow wasps around the garden, since they are a natural pest control. Wasps take care of bugs like aphids around the garden. Wasps do not discriminate though. They will eat the “good for garden bugs” as well, such as grasshoppers, ladybugs, and even honey bees. The important thing to remember is wasps perform crucial tasks like pest control, disperse seeds, pollinate, and are an important part of the natural cycle.
Wasps Are Generally Not Aggressive
Since many species of wasps are social and live in colonies, wasps are very family-oriented. Which accounts for the aggressive behavior and defensive actions. They are far more aggressive in early summer and late fall when food sources are scarce, because they are competing with so many other insects for nourishment. But wasps are rarely aggressive, unless provoked. The exception is yellow jackets. If an enemy, predator, or human walks into yellow jacket territory, they attack!
Let Us Help With Your Wasp Control
When you find a nest on your property, for your own safety make sure to leave it alone. Wasps rarely attack unprovoked. Although wasps are an important part of nature, they can damage property and don’t make great housemates. If wasps are causing problems at your home or business, give Green Pest Management a call. We are trained and prepared to take care of the wasp control for you. Give us a call at 302-777-2390 to get a free wasp control quote. Hear what customers are saying about Green Pest Management.
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