In article , Tim C.
wrote:

On Wed, 01 Feb 2006 21:28:49 +0000, Dave Poole
wrote:

Janet Baraclough wrote:

Each queen wasp will be the mother of a whole new colony by summer.

... which will result in the eradication of thousands of caterpillars
and other garden pests, so think twice before you kill the queen wasp.

Last summer I saw a wasp hunting and catch a honeybee from some
flowers in the garden. It flew with it to our small cherry tree and
hanging on by 3 legs from a leaf, carefully bit the head off the bee.
It then bit all the legs off letting them fall to the ground and
finally proceeded to eat out the abdomen like a döner kebab.

They frequently eat bees. I sit in late summer beside my hive, where a
dozen wasps will be patrolling, attacking any bee that falls to the
ground. They'll often eat the abdomen, and leave the rest of the bee
flailing. They also try to penetrate inside the hive, with the result
that at that time of year most beekeepers reduce the size of the
entrance, to make it easier for the guard bees to defend.

Lazarus