For real though, aggressive wasp species give the chill species a bad name. It's like being mad at bumblebees because Asian giant hornets exist.
Yellow jackets for example are definitely unpleasant: they buzz you when you try to eat outdoors, don't get the message to move on when swatted at, and constantly carry an attitude of "come at me bro." However my local species of paper wasp (I live in the Pacific Northwest of the US) is crazy chill and very conflict avoidant: they don't buzz or chase humans, don't show interest in human food or garbage, and will get out of your way if disturbed (assuming you're not attacking their home)
In fact, we actively attract paper wasps to our garden by planting western yarrow, and even have plans to erect a wasp box for them to safely make a home in (no I'm not joking). Why? Because in addition to being peaceful members of our garden ecosystem--alongside butterflies, ladybugs, frogs, salamanders, birds, and other critters--they are dedicated hunters of garden pests such as cabbage white caterpillars. As someone who grows a lot of kale for its year-round hardiness, I cannot express how much I appreciate wasps' dutiful patrol of our brassicas and other crops. And if you can get a population to establish themselves near your garden they will indeed be dutiful in scouting out pests.
It took me a while to shake off my all-wasps-are-bastards attitude toward them, but I really cannot express how much paper wasps have become garden bros, and it makes me sad to see my bros vilified.
I vote for more people effectively making "pet insect box" of species that hunt down pests
There's assorted companies that sell parasitic wasps as pest control.
Spalding sells theirs as "fly predators"; they basically look like tiny gnats but lay their eggs in fly pupa. They work great.
The only "irrational fear" I have that I know of is of wasps, but your example is exactly how I came to appreciating wasps, cabbage moth caterpillars and all lol
We don't see too many paper wasps where I am, so I had to accept that the yellow jackets in my garden cared more about the caterpillars than me and I thankfully hadn't gotten stung or chased the whole time I had that garden. I had to move and now the real pest I have to fight are deer, scumbag deer... Destroy your garden and your car, some even in the same day lol
I like your style
Paper wasps in the southwest are chill too. A wasp box is a neat idea, ty!
Yup same for the wasps from where I live. The only time I swat them away, is if they get near my food, or my ear.
Look into fig wasps. I dare you.
Wasps are also pollinators and are just as vital to the ecosystems they live in as bees and other native insects.
I've killed 5 nests in last 30 days. The can be so aggressive.
Wasps don’t give a fuck about you; don’t walk up to their nests and slap them and you’ll be fine. They’re defensive creatures rather than aggressive.
They also serve as excellent pest control. I tend to just leave them be unless they build a nest near a door that would be problematic.
Hornets, on the other hand, are indeed aggressive and can indeed go fuck themselves.
On behalf of spheksophobes everywhere, thank you for your heroic efforts! 🫡
Plus, I believe the vast majority of wasps are solitary and non-swarming (someone can probably fact check me on this), and thus not as aggressive as the species people typically think about which are just trying to protect their nest. I have plenty of wasps around my yard and I've never been stung by a single one.
I believe the vast majority of wasps are solitary and non-swarming (someone can probably fact check me on this), and thus not as aggressive as the species people typically think about
Varies a LOT depending on geographical location. As far as I've gathered, almost all of the wasps in the American Pacific Northwest are the totally chill kind, whereas here in Denmark, 99.999% are the flying terrorists known as yellowjackets.
My two most notable encounters with yellow jackets (here we call them European wasps or Vespula Germanica) went pretty much like this:
oh shit, there's a wasp buzzing around on my path. Act cool, don't show your fear, just move on and nothing will happen
Wasp: stings
You bitch, just go extinct already
In my experience, most wasps are okay.
Yellow jackets are straight up sadistic assholes however.
It really seems to make a difference what time of year it is. End of the summer they're just waiting to die and do not give a single fuck and will sting you for no reason sometimes.
Yeah that sounds like the wasps we have here in Germany. Bastards, all of them, zero redeeming qualities whatsoever.
Me: Swinging at wasp with a fly swatter.
Wasp: "You don't scare me. In fact, I'm going to pretend you're not even here. La La La! I can't see you!"
Me: Standing there minding my own business while a wasp flies into me.
Wasp: "THIS MEANS WAR MOTHERFUCKER!! I'M GONNA RAIN HELL DOWN ON YOU THE LIKES OF WHICH YOU'VE NEVER SEEN!!!"
Me: Standing there minding my own business while a wasp flies into me.
Wasp: Aaaand I took that personally
They do eat mosquitos, so that’s cool.
Whut no they don't. Not that I'm anti wasp I'm actually in the pro wasp group. Of course I don't want a nest in my house or something but I don't mind them being just around in general in my flower patches
I just googled it. Is short not as a main food source… occasionally, when there is nothing else to eat… so not around humans. Dammit.
No. Nonono. Kill them. All of them. I won't have it. And don't try to convince me with your pollinator shit. I won't have it. This is personal. Every one if those erratic stinging motherfuckers shall die.
There's a huge number of different species of wasp, which vary greatly in size. The smallest wasps are the smallest known insects; they're literally smaller than a millimeter. With many of them, you wouldn't know they were wasps if you didn't have a microscope.
In addition to pollinating, many wasps either eat or parasitize other insects. Yellowjackets will hunt horse flies, and there's assorted wasps that are sold to farmers to control various pests..
Edgy
Username checks out?
More ragey
I love the memes of animals using keyboards.
I'll never get tired of this sketch: https://youtu.be/i5ZcCHCxhc4
"That's some... really skilled blade work, oh no!"
Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/i5ZcCHCxhc4
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source, check me out at GitHub.
Wasps could learn to love wasp killer fluid if they gave it a chance.
I wouldn't even know if I'm allergic to wasp or bee stings.
Wasps don't attack me. Occasionally they do fly around me. Sometimes one steals a tiny piece of my cake or so. But after a short time they all leave, doing their wasp business elsewhere.
But never do they sting me. Maybe they are not provoked by me. Or maybe I'm a wasp whisperer. :)
*wasperer
No wasps, no figs.
Fig wasps are friendly non-stinging little boogers. I think we're talking about the nasty guys, like yellow jackets, bald faced hornets, paper wasps, murder wasps, etc..
I'd still trade wood for figs, I figure
Drawing is accurate, if bound to feature in my nightmares. (Anti)social wasps are flying terrorists and we're better off without them. Solitary wasps are cool, though, they can stay.
I always assumed that Sky was comprised of Rupert Murdoch and an angry hord of hornets
sky news, news wtf.
Fuck wasps. Kill it with fire.
I killed a wasp today and I still feel nauseous with guilt about it. When I was a kid I accidentally peed on a wasp nest (how I got there is a-whole-nother story) and now when I see one it's like my body responds before my brain can. Stinging insects in general haven't liked my existence and I might be a horrible legend to wasps.
My cat popped it once, so it seemed injured, but I feel I could've scooped it outside instead of losing dignity points and attacking it like a banshee...
You won’t catch me giving those nasty stingers a chance. I always kill any wasp or bee that I see immediately.
