Lifecycle of wasps?

[Wig]

Hi,

I have a wasp nest in a bush in the garden. It's paper and about the size of a cantaloupe melon. Wondering if they will all die in winter, then I can take the nest.

If they live through the winter and return next year and make the nest bigger, it becomes more of a concern regarding having the nest removed.

Also what benefit to the ecology system do wasps have?

I'll get some pictures later, I don't have a camera at the moment.

[Wig]

After some reading, I see they don't survive winter, but the queen may hibernate in the nest, and won't be gone until possibly next April May.

Also reading how the wasps may start to sting later in the summer, and they may not like anyone near the nest when the colony is bigger. At the moment they are still busy building the nest and rearing larvae.

As this is a small garden and the lawn has to be mown around and under the bush. It might be necessary to remove the nest now. And I have only found that they are hunters, and scavengers feeding on other insects. It doesn't seem to me to be an essential role like bees perform. So killing them is not going to be a big loss.


Would you kill the nest or leave it alone?

[Gill Catton]

I'd leave it - or at least try mowing and things first to see if its going to be a problem?

Wasp nests sometimes seem to take a lots of hassle before they come out stinging. For example there was a wasps nest in my mum,s garden (underground one) and my 4 year old niece was coming around and she was very likely to be allergic to stings so very reluntantly I decided to destroy the nest as we lived so far from any hospital and it just wasn't worth the risk. Anyhow despite filling the entrance with sand and gravel (which they removed piece by piece to continue) and then trying boiling water (they then removed their dead and started again) they never once stung me despite me standing over their nest abusing it!

Also wasps have lots of 'uses' they eat a lot of small insects that may otherwise munch on your plants or eat other insects that are harmless, they help to break down wood by taking it in pulp to their nests and they are just fascinating I think to watch.

[Wig]

I left the nest alone, all summer, never had any trouble from them, except the odd "fly by" I just walked away if I got "buzzed". I did regularly see them on a potted bay leaf plant which I thought was odd, as I couldn't work out why they liked that plant so much.

Still going to leave the nest until April next year before removing it.

[eucera]

I would be pretty surprised if exposed nests in the garden haven't been empty for a couple of months now. Check it carefully and then take it down if there is no activity at all. The nest is very beautiful, but come April, it will be pretty well destroyed.

Cheers, Stuart