wasps???

[hel1985]

just wondering,does any1 actually know what purpose these horrid winged devil's actually serve.all they do is fiy around stinging ppl 4 no reason(i am a victim of this reasonless stinging),,they dont make honey or anything usefull.
some one told me they clear up roten fruit ect.so they're just stinging fruit flys???

[tcvarlh]

They prey on many insects considered by humans to be pests and generally wasps leave us alone. They are attracted to meats and as everyone knows jams and sweet stuffs. So, although I'm sorry you have been stung by one, the yellowjacket is mostly beneficial in nature. Next one you come close to, just walk away and let it fly off. Don't do the waving of hands thing and trying to shoo it, they don't like that. Would you?

h

[eucera]

I am not sure I really understand what is meant by "what purpose do they [wasps] serve?"

Why do they have to serve any purpose at all? They are not here for our benefit or to "serve us" in any way. As it happens, wasps are pretty voracious predators, and catch countless insects in our gardens that would damage our crops, vegetables, and other plants. They have far better things to do than sting people

Stinging is a defense reponse (when individuals or the colony is threatened), or a hunting weapon (when used to subdue prey). It is not common for wasps to be aggressive to humans - why would they bother unless they feel threatened?

I can imagine a conversation in a wasps nest near me going along the lines of "Does anyone in here know what purpose humans serve? - they are appallingly aggressive, not just to sister wasps, but even to their own species. They destroy the planet through their ignorance, and have the temerity to think that us wasps are the villains of the piece"

[stigofthedump]

'why do they have to serve any purpose at all?'


Well said!




Vince

[ron1863]

What purpose do we humans serve in nature in comparison to a wasp

[tcvarlh]

Barley up Folks, not SO aggressive. hel1985's question is valid.
If you had been stung by a scorpion and it hurt like hell, would you be so calm and considered about scorpions?
Ask someone from one of the countries affected by locust plagues if they think locusts are a good idea, 1 hour after all his crops have been reduced.
I cannot imagine the answer would be to peacefully and passively give logical comments about the ecological benefits to nature of having a billion-strong cloud of flying bird food passing through.
Yes, wasps do hunt other insects and yes, people get stung, people also get bitten by dogs, what purpose do dogs have? For the person with blood gushing from a set of teethmarks; NONE. They are a menace and should be banned! An Illogical, but natural reaction surely?
Knee jerk reactions are normal.
It would have been in-keeping with WAB’s ideals to have expanded on my comments and given hel1985 more information, of which WAB has a fund.
I have always thought that the true and intelligent reason for WAB's existence was to nurture a love of nature, to educate and provide a database of opinion and knowledge. We cannot do that if we automatically leap to attack. Then we become dogmatic. Education is infinitely preferable to dictation.
H

[stigofthedump]

Yes tcvarlh, wise words indeed. I for one apologise hel1985 for my judgemental attitude.

Having been stung by wasps many a time I know it’s sore but the wasp is just being a wasp. I still look at them with awe.



Vince

[hel1985]

so no-one else feels the same then..no? thank you all for your replys n as i'm always saying 'every1 is entitled to their opinion' and am not daft,nieve ect,i grew up with nature and love everything about it and also studied gamekeeping and wildlife conservation,but i just dont get wasps atol,i've been stung by bees several times and dont mind them but its just the way wasps hover in front of ur face,and i dont walk away i run...as fast as possible in the opposite direction an they just seem to fallow me.i understand thier sting is its survival tool and are partial to our garden pests i.e aphids and blackflys.
when i got stung i wasnt doin the waving the arms thing,,it just landed on me,i stood still like wat ur told to do and BANG in the back of the neck.it was coming into autum though.only been stung once but that was enough.
so no offence to all those who do like them but i just cant stand them,nothing else bothers me like they do,not bees or spiders or anything like that,its just the 'face' with the anteni,,an believe i have developed a pheobia..lol.never mind though i'm sure i'll learn to deal with it

[asheleaf]

You will get over it, I hope. You have the right mind set to do so. I was stung three times and hated the things. Photographing and learning about insects and bees & wasps in particular has helped lessen my fear of them. To the point that last summer when i found a wasp's nest in a garden tree I left it alone. Having them so close and not bother me all last summer has also helped a lot. I've heard that one cure for aracnaphobia is to sit in a bathful of spiders. Perhaps you could try it with wasps

Ashe

[tcvarlh]

Personally, I'm not a lover of the family of wasps in general. I quite like Vespa crabro, the European Hornet, but the German wasp, Vespula germanica and the Common wasp, Vespula vulgaris leave me cold. The Hornet has such a low timbre drone (no pun intended) reminding me of old time aircraft. A mellow tone for my ears. The other two set my senses alert. Especially in autumn, like old men they can be crotchety then.
In Austria where the Hornet is protected (destroying a nest can cost you €50,000), I had two Hornet nests in my garden, a spacious affair of 3 hectares. However, I thought two nests a tad avaricious and called the fire department to remove and relocate one. The remaining nest kept my garden almost free of wasps for which I was most grateful. The hornets lived in a quiet area of the garden and my daughters were instructed not to play around that area. Hornets are lovers of peace and quiet. Loud noises make them very bad-tempered. With consequences that smart.

The Schmidt Sting Pain Index or the Justin O. Schmidt Pain Index is a pain scale rating the relative pain caused by different Hymenopteran stings.

1.0 Sweat bee: Light, ephemeral, almost fruity. A tiny spark has singed a single hair on your arm.
1.2 Fire ant: Sharp, sudden, mildly alarming. Like walking across a shag carpet & reaching for the light switch.
1.8 Bullhorn acacia ant: A rare, piercing, elevated sort of pain. Someone has fired a staple into your cheek.
2.0 Bald-faced hornet: Rich, hearty, slightly crunchy. Similar to getting your hand mashed in a revolving door.
2.0 Yellowjacket: Hot and smoky, almost irreverent. Imagine W. C. Fields extinguishing a cigar on your tongue.
2.x Honey bee and European hornet: Like a matchhead that flips off and burns on your skin.
3.0 Red harvester ant: Bold and unrelenting. Somebody is using a drill to excavate your ingrown toenail.
3.0 Paper wasp: Caustic & burning. Distinctly bitter aftertaste. Like spilling a beaker of hydrochloric acid on a paper cut.
4.0 Tarantula hawk: Blinding, fierce, shockingly electric. A running hair drier has been dropped into your bubble bath.
4.0+ Bullet ant: Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like fire-walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch rusty nail in your heel.

Some of Schmidt’s descriptions are highly amusing I find. The Tarantula Hawk comparison leads me to wonder how anyone could have described it to another. The dead don’t speak to us!

Please take a look at Pain Scales in Wikipedia, there is some truly odd stuff out there.
H