What is the Point of Wasps? Are Wasps Useful? Are They Just a Stinging Menace?
The Misunderstood Role of Wasps in Our Ecosystem
Wasps tend to get a bad rap, often seen as nothing more than pesky picnic crashers with a mean sting. But these diverse insects are far more complex and beneficial than many realize. Here's an in-depth look at the world of wasps and what makes them tick.
What are Wasps Good For?
While wasps may seem annoying to humans, they play several important roles in ecosystems around the world. Here are some of the benefits they provide:
Pest Control
Many wasp species prey on pest insects like flies, caterpillars, and beetle larvae that can damage crops and plants. They are a natural form of pest control that helps protect gardens and farms.
Pollination
Though not as efficient as bees, some wasps contribute to pollination as they visit flowers to drink nectar. Their movement between blooms leads to cross-pollination.
Scavenging
Wasps feed on dead and decaying matter, helping break it down and cycle nutrients back into the ecosystem. They pick meat and insects off animal carcasses and dead trees.
Biodiversity
With over 100,000 identified species, wasps help promote rich biodiversity around the globe. They occupy an important niche in nature and are food for other bugs, spiders, birds, and small animals.
Research
Scientists study wasp physiology, venom, wasp nests, and behavior to better understand insect biology, ecology, evolution, and more. Wasps continue to be an important model organism.
Are Wasps Active at Night?
Most species are diurnal, meaning they are active during the daytime. However, some types of wasps display crepuscular behavior, with peak activity at dawn and dusk. A few species may be active nocturnally, especially if attracted to exterior lights.
Night foraging by wasps is rarer than diurnal activity but can occur. Some reasons that they may fly and search for food at night include:
Temperature: Cooler night temperatures allow wasps to forage with less risk of overheating. Daytime heat can prevent them from flying or deplete energy stores.
Lighting: Bright security lights, street lamps, and porch lighting can attract night-flying insects, which wasps prey on. The illumination draws them in.
Hunger: At the end of the season, when wasp colonies are declining, remaining workers may be extra hungry and searching more desperately for sustenance. This can lead to nighttime scavenging.
Mistakes: Some nighttime wasp activity may be accidental. Individual wasps that have lost their way back to the nest or are dying may wander aimlessly in darkness.
Species behavior: A few types, like some paper wasps are known to regularly build nests that have openings facing downward. This suggests they have some natural orientation for nighttime navigation.
So, while most wasps sleep at night, hunger, light attraction, and other factors can lead to occasional nighttime encounters with these normally day-active insects. Exercise caution around them regardless of the time of day.
Why are Wasps so Bad This Year?
Reports indicate that wasp populations seem more active and abundant in many areas this year. There are a few possible reasons for the surge:
Weather: The relatively mild winters preceding this year allowed more wasp queens to survive and reproduce. Lack of extreme cold reduces overwintering mortality.
Prey availability: High volumes of caterpillars, aphids, and other bug prey this spring and summer have allowed their numbers to multiply rapidly. More food equals more wasps.
Predator decline: Drops in wasp predator populations like birds, dragonflies, and spiders may have released their numbers from top-down control. This let colonies expand.
Previous season success: When wasp populations do well one year, higher numbers of reproductive queens overwinter and boost the next season. Last year may have been ideal for wasps.
Habitat changes: Development, construction, and landscaping can sometimes create new nesting sites for wasps like cavities, holes, and sheltered overhangs. More nesting room equals more colonies.
Climate shifts: Gradual climate changes in some regions, including warmer summers, may allow seasonal expansions in wasp activity compared to previous decades.
The exact reasons can vary by location, but generally, mild conditions have aligned to encourage high populations in many places this year. Be extra cautious around food and watch for nests to avoid unwanted encounters.
Can Wasps Sting More Than Once?
Unlike bees, wasps generally retain the ability to sting multiple times without dying. Here's why wasps can sting repeatedly:
Unbarbed stinger: A wasp's stinger lacks barbs and is smooth. So it can easily pull free of skin without tearing away wasp body parts or disemboweling the insect.
Venom gland connection: The stinger connects to a separate venom gland rather than being an attached "exploding" unit like in bees. This makes it reusable.
Ovipositor origins: The stinger evolved from a female wasp's egg-laying organ (ovipositor) rather than a modified bee stinger. It's designed for repeated use.
Intimidation over defense: Wasp stings are often more about warning off threats rather than making a suicidal last defense like bees. Multiple stings better communicate; don't mess with our home!
However, some species are hesitant to sting and use venom frugally since it takes energy to make. Very frequent stinging can sometimes damage the stinger or venom gland.
In general, they have the capacity to sting over and over if highly provoked. So do not swat at or confront them!
At What Temperature Do Wasps Die?
Wasps are susceptible to temperature extremes and can die off when it's either too hot or too cold outside. Here are some key temperatures to know:
100°F (37°C): At around this point, heat begins causing mortality in adult worker wasps away from the nest as they cannot withstand high temperatures for prolonged time periods.
115°F (46°C): This extreme heat can kill wasps in just a few hours. Direct sun exposure on hot days can raise nest temperatures this high.
120°F (49°C): One hour of exposure to this temperature is lethal to them. It's the upper limit of what they can endure before dying.
50°F (10°C): As temperatures drop into the low 50s, wasp activity begins slowing down as their flight muscles grow too cold for flying and foraging.
40°F (4°C): At around this point, most adult wasps die from cold exposure. They experience chill coma and cannot move about to generate warmth.
10°F (-12°C): Extended cold below this point kills any remaining dormant queen wasps, eggs, and overwintering pupae, wiping out the nest.
So, in general, hot sunny days above 100°F and winter nights in the 30s and below lead to widespread wasp death and make survival challenging. A few sheltering queen wasps may persist, but the colony dies back.
Fear of Wasps
Many people are afraid of wasps, and this fear actually has a name - spheksophobia. Here's an overview of this common phobia:
Causes:
Painful stings: Getting stung is unpleasant. This negative experience causes an aversion.
Nest encounters: Stepping on or near a hidden nest elicits panic as they will swarm to defend it.
Buzzing wings: The loud buzz of agitated wasps triggers a primal alarm in the brain's threat response center.
Swarming behavior: Seeing large groups of wasps flying erratically stresses our safety instincts.
Unpredictability: Not knowing when a resting wasp might fly up and land on you increases anxiety in some.
Symptoms:
Panic/dread when seeing wasps
Wanting to flee a wasp's presence
Obsessive checking for wasps
Loss of concentration if wasps are nearby
Racing heartbeat, nausea, sweating
Nightmares about being attacked
Overcoming Your Fear:
Remain calm and still around wasps rather than swatting or running
Understand wasp behaviors to prevent attracting their interest
Start exposure therapy in controlled settings to see wasps don't always sting
Get professional help for severe phobias impacting daily functioning
Use relaxation techniques and positive self-talk during wasp encounters
By learning more about wasps, nature, and their behavior while starting slow, gradual exposure to them, most people can eventually overcome their fear of wasps.
The Role of Wasps in the Environment and What Do They Do For the Environment Anyway?
Here are some examples of the value of wasps and the most important ecological roles and services they perform:
Keep insect pests under control by preying on crop-damaging caterpillars, flies, and beetles. Their hunting limits damage to plants.
Pollinate flowers as they travel from bloom to bloom seeking nectar. This facilitates cross-pollination and fruit production in some plants.
Scavenge dead animal and plant material, speeding decomposition and the recycling of nutrients back into the soil and food web.
Provide food for other species when larvae or adults are eaten by birds, spiders, reptiles, amphibians and other insect predators. All species of wasps can provide a meal for their predators.
Contribute to biodiversity as tens of thousands of wasp species fill different niches across virtually every terrestrial habitat and biome.
Mix and aerate soil when they dig nesting burrows, allowing better drainage and root growth.
Disperse beneficial microbes when moving between flowers, plants, and decaying organic matter. This spreads health-promoting germs.
Serve as model organisms for scientific study across biology, providing insight into genetics, venom, evolution, and more.
So, while wasps may sometimes be a nuisance, they provide indispensable services to ecosystems worldwide.
Their intricate role in nature illustrates the complex interdependencies that maintain diverse life on Earth.
Wasps Are Not Hornets Or Honeybees: However, They All Die The Same From Pesticides
Wasps and hornets are two very different insects, and the same holds true for bees and wasps. However, they are all susceptible to pesticide use and poisoning. Please do not use these chemicals in your yard. They have such overreaching effects on your backyard and your backyard visitors.
Let's Sum Up These Useful Insects: Remember, Wasps are Pollinators Too!
Wasps are far more than just angry insects with painful stings. They display remarkable diversity in size, color, behavior, and biology. Different wasp species fill roles as predators, pollinators, scavengers and more.
While caution around nests is wise, wasps should also be appreciated for their many contributions that help sustain the health of global environments.
If we understand them better, there is hope that one day, wasps and humans may be able to coexist peacefully.
Betsy and Pete
Las Vegas, Nevada
About Us: The Authors
We're Betsy and Pete, passionate Las Vegas beekeepers trained by a master in the field. With hundreds of successful bee and bee swarm removals under our belts, we're not just experts; we're enthusiasts committed to the well-being of these incredible pollinators.
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