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Wasp
stings
Wasps tend to get a bad reputation when it comes to stinging. They
are almost unnoticed during the early summer as they are building
their nest and feeding the grubs, but late in the summer when their
life cycle is nearly complete they are buzzing around looking for
a source of sugar, we might be unlucky and get one trapped and get
stung and if their nest is disturbed then they will naturally try
and defend it, so leave it alone. If you do get stung then this
will help to ease the pain.
I. Cool the area of the sting with cold water or an ice pack.
2. Apply sting cream, this is available from all good chemists,
Honey and propolis Healing Balm from The Honey Pot also works very
well.
3. Put a plaster on, do not scratch because this leads to swelling.
4. If these steps are taken, swelling should normally go down within
24-36 hours.
Anaphylactic shock
This is an extremely rare reaction to bee or wasp stings, this can
be life threatening due to hypersensitivity. If in any doubt, always
seek medical advise. For more information click on About Bees/ Bee
Sting |
Wasp
nests
This is a photo of a large wasp nest measuring 61cm x 76cm (2
feet x 2 feet - 6 inches), it is perfectly formed from chewed
wood, (papier mache). This photo of the nest was sent to our web
site, next to it is a smaller wasp nest found in his loft.
We can have one living in our roofs and might be totally unaware
of it being there, indeed contrary to some peoples beliefs they
are unlikely to cause any problem at all if left alone and in
a place such as a loft away from children and pets.
This second picture was sent to our web site thanks to Nicholas
Lambe, a Home Inspector of Hitchen in Hertfordshire here in England,
it blends in well with the loft insulation.
These wasp nests are small compared to a wasp nest found on a
farm at New Zealand in 1963, it was 366cm x 175cm (12 feet x 5
feet 9inches)
The over wintered queen wasp will start to build her nest on her
own in the early spring, it is about the size of a golf ball,
the Queen wasp will create a small cluster of hexagonally shaped
cells hanging vertically downwards and lay her eggs in the cells.
This picture was sent to us by beekeeper Peter Edwards from Stratford-upon-Avon
of the common wasp (Vespa vulgaris L.)
It clearly shows the start of the nest and her eggs can be seen
in the three cells in the centre, this queen wasp chose the underneath
of one of Peters hive roofs to make her nest, a nice and sheltered
place, but not many beekeepers appreciate having wasps in their
apiary because of the risk of robbing their honey later in the
summer.
When her daughters start to hatch out they take over the nest
building, they keep it clean, regulate the temperature and humidity
and feed their queen and larvae. The queen remains in the nest
to lay her eggs. The nest increases in size as the season progresses
A wasp nest is made of paper and the wasps make it by chewing
wood from trees and mixing it with saliva.
These are best left alone, it will not cause any damage to property.
If you have one and it is a problem, then the wasps can be destroyed
if you get in touch with your local council or look in Yellow
pages under Pest & Vermin control services, there will be
a charge.
So how long does it take for the wasps to build their nest ? From
early spring until the Autumn when it reaches its maximum size,
it is then when the wasps leave their nest and we start noticing
them more often. The population can reach about 5,000
By the end of Summer, all wasps leave their nests and do not return,
so the nest can then be removed in safety if you think it is necessary.
Wasps do not return to their nest next year because they have
all died, except for the new Queen Wasps that build a new nest
from scratch, the queens do not use an empty nest.
The old wasp nest is not used again but the hibernating queen
wasps might use it as a place of shelter in the winter.
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Queen
wasps
The first wasps that we spot in the spring are the queen wasps,
these are the previous years mated queens that have over wintered,
you can see them flying alone searching for a suitable place to
build their nest. The queen is larger than the female worker and
male drone wasps that emerge later.
Only the newly mated Queens of this year survive the winter and
find some where dry to hibernate, such as a roof, basement, hollow
trees or an old wasp nest |
Wasps,
friend or foe?
Despite the inconvenience caused by wasps, they are a problem only
for a short time each year. They play an essential role in the balance
of nature by being an ecological pest control system, they feed
their grubs with flies, aphids, mosquitoes and caterpillars which
would be an even bigger problem. One wasp can bring into their nest
over 200 flies in one hour, with as many as 20,000 wasps being reared
from a nest.
Wasps help with pollination when gathering nectar from the plants
they visit.
Un like the honey bee, wasps do not produce any honey as their diet
is different, but as they are abandoning their nests in the Autumn
they are on the look out for any source of sugar to keep them going
and are often seen trying to rob out bee hives of honey.
Beekeepers reduce their hive entrances to make it easier for the
guard bees to keep these un wanted visitors out.
Later in the summer/autumn the wasps eat over ripe fruit as a source
of sugar, mostly from fruit that has fallen on the ground. If this
has fermented then this can make the wasps appear to be aggressive.
If there are a lot of wasps about this year, then it is because
there are a lot of insects about, if there are less wasps then it
is because there are less insects to feed from. |
Different
types of wasps
The common wasps Vespula vulgaris L. and the German wasp Vespula
germanica L. Are the most common in Britain and are similar in
looks and life style. There are many other species such as digger
wasps, solitary wasps, parasitic wasps and spider wasps.
Hornet inspecting a piece
of honey comb after visiting The Honey Pot at Markeaton Park Craft
Village, a useful size comparison.
A Hornets nest was found under a fallen poplar tree, a few hundred
metres away.
On the 17th May 2006 a queen hornet came to visit me at The Honey
Pot.
The measurements were as follows: Body 30mm x 10mm diameter, each
wing 25mm
Because the park is a very public place I took her to a secluded
woodland a few miles away
to give her better chance of building her nest.
Queen Hornet on a piece of honey comb
The Hornet, Vespa crabro L. is our largest wasp and is found more
in the south of England but it is being spotted more recently
further north of England. They build their nests usually in a
hollow deciduous tree in a wood.
Some people have an unusual fear for hornets but they are no more
likely to attack than any other wasp, unless like the common wasp,
their nest is provoked, in which case they will defend it. There
sting is no more painful than a common wasp.
The hornet has an orange/brown coloured thorax and the wings are
slightly darker than the common wasp.
Here in Britain we only have the one species of Hornet, but in
Japan they have several
different species, some causing big problems each year.
The Largest Hornet Nest In The Guinness Book of Records, says
that Yoshikuni Shiozawa of Nagano, Japan made a huge Hornets nest
measuring 3.766 metres (12.25 feet) high x 4.8 metres (15.6 feet)
wide at the base by joining together 160 Hornets nests containing
an estimated 160.000 Hornets at his Hornet museum in October 1999,
don't try this at home kids.
The Hornet is known as the gentle giant of the wasp world. If
you go to the links page there is a fascinating web site all about
Hornets.
Wasps like other insects start as an egg, larva, pupa and emerge
as an adult, unlike the honey bee, their nest is built in tiers
horizontally with the grubs hanging downwards. The honey bee builds
their combs vertically with the cells at 90 degrees.
Killer Wasps?
The National Newspaper The Telegraph, have recently reported
about the problems encountering the beekeepers across the channel
in the south of France with a different type of Hornet than our
European version, Vespa velutina L. This is from the far east,
it is thought to have come on a consignment of pottery. The French
beekeepers are reporting a loss of honey production by 60%, is
this due to the Vespa velutina? maybe hives that are suffering
from other problems such as Varroa maybe weakened and not up to
the normal strength of guard bees. The beekeepers can help to
protect their colonies with reduced hive entrances and the Hornet
being slightly larger can not squeeze past a narrow entrance that
our honey bees can perhaps?
Reports like this is what makes the public fear about the Hornet
due to its destructive nature to the honey bees and other insects,
the chances of it coming to Britain are possible due to the climate
change, but whether it can cope with our climate remains to be
seen, if you visit the link below, it shows a video of these Hornets
attacking a colony of honey bees in Japan.
http://www.olympus.co.jp/en/magazine/pursuit/feature_article/jan2003/movie_mp_b.cfm
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Reduce
the temptation
We are partly to blame for the wasp problem, we have litter bins
full of sweet and ice cream wrappers and sugary drink cans. Then
place the litter bins next to the park bench seats where we are
sitting. The wasps are attracted to the sugar that we have provided
for them.
Wasps might get into your drink while you are not looking, so
be careful when picking up your can or bottle and placing it on
your lips or you could get a painful sting in your mouth.
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Why
do wasps become a nuisance?
Wasps become a bit of a problem towards the end of the summer when
they are no longer building up their nest and feeding their grubs.
When they are feeding their young with insects, they are rewarded
by a sweet substance secreted from the grubs, this keeps them going
and provides them with the sugar they need, but when the queen wasp
has stopped laying her eggs, they are in need of some sugar to keep
on going and we kindly provide it for them in drinks cans and bottles,
sweet wrappers and ice creams and provide these “wasp food
stations” (litter bins) at places where they are likely to
be a nuisance when we are out of doors at our picnics and barbecues
at the height of summer. Beekeepers are often troubled by wasps
going into their hives as they are robbing the honey from the bees.
Wasps love to eat honey but can not produce it them selves.
Wasps do not have the necessary means to gather nectar, bring it
back to their nests, transfer from wasp to wasp, store the nectar
containing a high water content, reduce the moisture content, cap
it over like our honey bees do. Their paper nest would absorb the
water and disintegrate. So wasps do not make or store honey, but
given the opportunity, they will steal it.
Wasp Traps
These do it your self wasp traps come with a simple instructions
leaflet and information about wasps, they are available from The
Honey Pot and you can find out how to order them if you go to the
products/ mail order page. |
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