ANTI SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR!
Probably the most annoying insect on the planet, wasps have the ability to ruin any outside event just by their sheer persistence. Considered to be ‘social’ they must be the most unsociable critters known to man and, in rare cases, life threatening!
asps belong to the family Vespula. The life cycle of the four main stinging species of ‘social’ wasps found in the UK revolves around the queen who is the only member of the colony that lays eggs. She overwinters in a frost free location such as a hollow tree, a loft space, garden shed or similar and, in early spring when the weather is suitable, will emerge to try and find a suitable location to begin building a nest for this years colony.
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The queen chews soft or rotting wood into a pulp. This is taken back to the nest location and mixed with saliva to make the structure of the first ten to fifteen brood cells and the outer casing of the nest. When this is complete an egg is laid in each individual cell. Once the eggs have hatched the queen collects insects and sugar based food to feed to the fast growing larvae and, after approximately fourteen days, the larvae seal the entrance to the cell and begin the process of metamorphosis.
When the first brood have pupated and finally hatched into adults they assume the duties of collecting wood pulp, increasing the size of the nest and feeding the newly hatched larvae. The queen now remains in the nest with the sole task of laying more eggs. Early on in the life of a wasp nest the majority of the food brought back by the infertile female workers will be insects of high protein content. As the summer progresses more high carbohydrate foods, such as the sugars from ripe fruit and berries, will slowly become the main stay of the diet fed to the larvae. This is the attraction to our sandwiches, drinks, ice creams and sweets and the reason they are so persistent in their quest. This fermenting carbohydrate diet is the cause of what are often called “dozy wasps” found in houses and gardens in autumn.
In the late autumn the high carbohydrates encourage the production of larger cells to be made in
the nest. These cells produce virgin queens and drones which will pupate and hatch just prior to the onset of winter. The new queens mate with more than one of the drones and move away from the nest to find a suitable frost free site to overwinter and then the whole cycle starts again. Over one hundred new queens may be produced from an average sized nest. Any nests found at this time should
be treated as opposed to being left just because “they are causing no problems at the moment”. Remember, the emerging queens may start a nest next year that is in a ‘problem’ location. Wasps carry venom that they use to overpower their insect prey and to protect themselves and their nest. The venom is contained in a sac that has evolved from a redundant egg laying tube in the infertile female workers. This sac ends in a sting which is similar to a hypodermic needle. It is contained in the lower sections of the abdomen of all worker wasps.
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