Benefits of wasps to the environment and uses to humans

[Montero]

Wasps: why I love them, and why you should too

We value bees for the jobs they do for the environment and us – why is the same not true of wasps?

theconversation.com

 

[Astro Pen]

A hard sell.

 

[Montero]

Oh yes, but keep saying it and it gets through in the end.

 

[Foxbat]

I hate wasps but....

My brother is a hobby bee keeper and a staunch supporter of wasps getting better press. He told me that one nest where he used to work had been destroyed just because it was a wasp nest. It never seemed to occur to anybody that this was one of the rarer species (the Norwegian Wasp). He was pretty mad about it but nobody would listen to him at the time. He ‘s got me to a place where I don’t react by going into kill mode anymore. In fact, the last few years I’ve had two nests in my garden and the neighbours had one in their roof. The only time I was stung was when weeding and I ventured too close to the nest.

Like any other creature, they will lash out to protect their own. I got the message and just let the weeds grow around their hole. It’s hard work trying not to give in to the fear and just killing them but, because of all the good they do, I think we should just leave them alone.

 

[Valtharius]

Fascinating article. Wasps almost always leave me alone, because I stay calm and don't swing my arms wildly in their presence. I think I've only been stung once in my life (by a honeybee).

 

[robertheerlein]

When I was a young boy, maybe 8 or 9 I stepped on a nest of yellow jackets. I must have been stung 50 times (At least that's what it felt like). I know now that everything in the natural world has its benefits, but growing up with that memory it was hard to see their benefit.

 

[Mouse]

I like wasps. And hornets. Never been stung by anything other than nettles.

 

[Montero]

@robertheerlein Ouch.

My bug bear is horse flies. Not been clobbered in a year or two, but especially when I was doing a lot of Civil War re-enactment, on rich fertilized fields (as in lots of animal manure around) I got stung at most musters - and then it would get infected. After the first couple of oozers I didn't put antihistamine cream on, I put on antiseptic instead, and things went better at that point.
I've been stung by bees - used to be a beekeeper and it was generally my fault they stung - as in squatting down and crushing them in the fold of my knee because I hadn't thought to brush off before I squatted down to check a lower bit of the hive.
Only one wasp sting and again that was my fault - last summer I was eating a sliced apple out on the patio while reading a book. Sudden agonising pain in my lip as I bit down on a slice of apple and when I scooped everything out of my mouth to find out what the sharp thing was, there was a dead wasp - it had been on the apple slice and I'd put it in my mouth and bitten down and it had stung me inside my lip.
Oh and I've been clobbered by midges and mosquitos.