Wasps and Hornets

Being stung by a Common Wasp or Hornet (a larger member of the wasp family) is very painful. It can also be life threatening to the one in thirty people who are allergic to stings and may suffer anaphylactic shock. However, it is possible to reduce these risks by taking sensible precautions when outdoors and ensuring that Hornet or Wasp nests are properly treated or removed.

Appearance

Wasps and Hornets can be identified by their alternating black and yellow body segments. They have a distinctive side-to-side flying pattern and can be mistaken for Bees, although their bodies lack the hair and rounded abdomen of the Bee.

Habitat

These social Wasps live in colonies that may contain a thousand insects at a time. Hornet and Wasp nests are made from chewed wood pulp and saliva, giving them unmistakable papery walls. A queen will start to build a nest in the spring, beginning with a nest about the size of a golf ball but as the first batch of workers hatch to take over nest building the size of the nest increases rapidly. Wasps will build nests anywhere with shelter and easy access to the outdoors, often in domestic housing, making use of attics, wall cavities, roof spaces or under the eaves of buildings.

Diet

Adults live through one season feeding on caterpillars, grubs and other insects. They also enjoy nectar and sweet substances such as fruit and tree sap. Wasps are also attracted to garbage and other human foods.

Attacks

Both Wasps and Hornets are very protective of their nest and their stings can be painful. Equipped with lance-like stingers without barbs, both Wasps and Hornets are capable of stinging repeatedly.

The risk of being stung is particularly high towards the end of summer. Resultantly it is preferable to destroy a Wasps nest earlier in the year before Wasps become more aggressive.