Wasps
Overview
Wasps are very well-known - large, yellow and black striped flying insects with narrow-waisted bodies. Wasps are attracted by
sweet substances, and become more and more of a nuisance as the autumn begins. Wasps are notorious for having a painful
sting, which in rare cases can result in anaphylactic shock - an allergic reaction to wasp sting venom. Without prompt medical
attention, anaphylactic shock can prove fatal.
The queen wasp is larger (20mm) and she hibernates over winter, making a nest in the spring in which to lay her eggs. She feeds
the grubs on insects until they develop into worker wasps, three to four weeks later. Workers, all sterile females, will forage for
over a mile in search of food. They continue to enlarge the nest across the summer, building it with chewed wood cemented into
place with saliva. Each nest may produce 30,000 wasps in a year. At their peak in August and September with the youngsters
reared, the workers turn to the sweet food they prefer and become a nuisance wherever this is available.
There are two species of wasp native to the UK - the common wasp, Vespula vulgaris, and the hornet, Vespa crabro. Several
other European species have also been recorded here. Wasp nests may be found suspended from trees, in nest boxes, bee
hives, air bricks, lofts and dormer windows. Wasp colonies last for one season only, and tend to die off at the onset of winter.
Nests are abandoned, and never re-used, although in favourable locations new nests may be built adjacent to old ones.
Where a queen wasp chooses a nesting site in, on or near buildings, drastic action may need to be taken, resulting in the death
of the colony. Insecticidal dusts and liquid surface sprays are some of the options for controlling problematic wasp populations.
In addition, the use of electric fly killers, or traps baited with sugary syrups may be of use in the control of foraging wasps, where
their nest cannot be treated.
Click on the links to the left to find out more on individual UK species.
