"Paddy's Pig" wrote in message
...

Superb!

Do you know what kind of wasp it is?

Mary

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
. net...

"Paddy's Pig" wrote in message
...

Superb!

Do you know what kind of wasp it is?

Mary


It is a paper wasp aka umbrella wasp. Those are the ones that build nests
like upside down umbrellas, honey-combed. They are gentle insects, like
honey-bees. They eat insects and nectar and are considered to be beneficial.
I have them all over my garden, and we get along just fine. I've seen them
build nests in alcoves, entry ways to buildings and you could stop and look
at them with your head 2 feet away from the nest, and they would just ignore
you.

"Zoot" wrote in message
...

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
. net...

"Paddy's Pig" wrote in message
...

Superb!

Do you know what kind of wasp it is?

Mary


It is a paper wasp aka umbrella wasp. Those are the ones that build nests
like upside down umbrellas, honey-combed. They are gentle insects, like
honey-bees. They eat insects and nectar and are considered to be
beneficial. I have them all over my garden, and we get along just fine.
I've seen them build nests in alcoves, entry ways to buildings and you
could stop and look at them with your head 2 feet away from the nest, and
they would just ignore you.

I don't know of a wasp like that. What's its scientific name?

Mary

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
. net...

"Zoot" wrote in message
...

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
. net...

"Paddy's Pig" wrote in message
...

Superb!

Do you know what kind of wasp it is?

Mary


It is a paper wasp aka umbrella wasp. Those are the ones that build nests
like upside down umbrellas, honey-combed. They are gentle insects, like
honey-bees. They eat insects and nectar and are considered to be
beneficial. I have them all over my garden, and we get along just fine.
I've seen them build nests in alcoves, entry ways to buildings and you
could stop and look at them with your head 2 feet away from the nest, and
they would just ignore you.

I don't know of a wasp like that. What's its scientific name?

Mary

They are of the genus Polistes. The ones we have around here appear to be
Polistes dominula aka European paper wasp. They are very common in the
western and south-west USA. I've seen them from Nevada all the way up to
Washington. You can easily distinguish them from yellowjackets by the legs
that hang down when they fly, and the shape of the abdomen. They have nasty
stings, but they are so gentle they seldom actually sting anyone. You have
to do something like poke their nest to make them mad.

"Zoot" wrote in message
...

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
. net...

"Zoot" wrote in message
...

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
. net...

"Paddy's Pig" wrote in message
...

Superb!

Do you know what kind of wasp it is?

Mary


It is a paper wasp aka umbrella wasp. Those are the ones that build
nests like upside down umbrellas, honey-combed. They are gentle insects,
like honey-bees. They eat insects and nectar and are considered to be
beneficial. I have them all over my garden, and we get along just fine.
I've seen them build nests in alcoves, entry ways to buildings and you
could stop and look at them with your head 2 feet away from the nest,
and they would just ignore you.

I don't know of a wasp like that. What's its scientific name?

Mary

They are of the genus Polistes. The ones we have around here appear to be
Polistes dominula aka European paper wasp. They are very common in the
western and south-west USA. I've seen them from Nevada all the way up to
Washington. You can easily distinguish them from yellowjackets by the legs
that hang down when they fly, and the shape of the abdomen. They have
nasty stings, but they are so gentle they seldom actually sting anyone.
You have to do something like poke their nest to make them mad.

It doesn't look like any polistes type I've seen.

But you have to disturb the nest or the individual to make any wasp sting
....

Mary

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

"Zoot" wrote in message
...

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
. net...

"Zoot" wrote in message
...

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
. net...

"Paddy's Pig" wrote in message
...

Superb!

Do you know what kind of wasp it is?

Mary


It is a paper wasp aka umbrella wasp. Those are the ones that build
nests like upside down umbrellas, honey-combed. They are gentle
insects, like honey-bees. They eat insects and nectar and are
considered to be beneficial. I have them all over my garden, and we get
along just fine. I've seen them build nests in alcoves, entry ways to
buildings and you could stop and look at them with your head 2 feet
away from the nest, and they would just ignore you.

I don't know of a wasp like that. What's its scientific name?

Mary

They are of the genus Polistes. The ones we have around here appear to be
Polistes dominula aka European paper wasp. They are very common in the
western and south-west USA. I've seen them from Nevada all the way up to
Washington. You can easily distinguish them from yellowjackets by the
legs that hang down when they fly, and the shape of the abdomen. They
have nasty stings, but they are so gentle they seldom actually sting
anyone. You have to do something like poke their nest to make them mad.

It doesn't look like any polistes type I've seen.

But you have to disturb the nest or the individual to make any wasp sting
...

Mary



There are ~300 species and subspecies in genus Polistes. The Europen paper
wasp is just one, and is quite common in the west and south west US. Where
do you live?

The difference between the paper wasps and, say, the yellowjacket, is how
much it takes to get them to sting. Yellowjackets are usually considered to
be much more aggressive. You can pick up a honey bee in your hand and it
might not sting you. You can hold a bumble in your hand. Do that with a
yellowjacket and it will most likely sting. I kill yellowjackets and bald
face hornets with extreme prejudice. I welcome all other types of bees and
wasps.

It doesn't look like any polistes type I've seen.

But you have to disturb the nest or the individual to make any wasp sting
...

Mary



There are ~300 species and subspecies in genus Polistes. The Europen paper
wasp is just one, and is quite common in the west and south west US. Where
do you live?

The difference between the paper wasps and, say, the yellowjacket, is how
much it takes to get them to sting. Yellowjackets are usually considered
to be much more aggressive. You can pick up a honey bee in your hand and
it might not sting you. You can hold a bumble in your hand. Do that with a
yellowjacket and it will most likely sting. I kill yellowjackets and bald
face hornets with extreme prejudice. I welcome all other types of bees and
wasps.


I know from experience you can put your face 12 inches from a paper wasp
nest, and they will ignore you. When springs are warm and wet, they build a
lot of nests in the entry ways to the buildings I used to live in, and I
would stop and look up and see a nest 12 inches from my nose. They never
bothered anyone comeing and going. My daughter came within a couple feet of
a bald faced hornet nest, and they took off after her. That night, the nest
met with an untimely demise

When I was younger, we lived on the island of Guam. We have a wasp there
similar to the paper wasp in temperament and nest building habits, we call
them bounee bees. When we playing in the yard with a ball, the ball got
stuck in a small bush. My friend went up to the bush and starting kicking
it, disturbing a large nest of bounee bees. They swarmed out of the nest,
looking for the cause of the disturbance. My friend slowly walked away, and
didn't get stung once. I, being young and fearfull, ran for it, and got
stung twice. Had I calmly walked away, I would have been fine, as the rest
of us were.

Don't do that to a yellow jacket nest, or a nest of "killer" bees, if you
can find such a thing - we don't have them up here in the Northwest, but we
did when I lived in Las Vegas, and they are extremely aggressive.

"Zootal" wrote in message
...


There are ~300 species and subspecies in genus Polistes. The Europen paper
wasp is just one, and is quite common in the west and south west US. Where
do you live?

LOL! Yorkshire, England.

The difference between the paper wasps and, say, the yellowjacket, is how
much it takes to get them to sting. Yellowjackets are usually considered
to be much more aggressive.

They are, but I think they're only defensive - there's a difference.

You can pick up a honey bee in your hand and it might not sting you.

Might not, it depends how you do it. I kept honeybees for twenty five year
so know a bit about it.

You can hold a bumble in your hand. Do that with a yellowjacket and it
will most likely sting. I kill yellowjackets and bald face hornets with
extreme prejudice. I welcome all other types of bees and wasps.

I never kill wasps or bees of any kind. Most yellowjackets can't be picked
up like bumble bees, they don't let themselves get into the same situations.

Any animal will defend itself, it perceives pain as a threat to its
integrity so does its best to prevent further harm.

Only humans, I believe, are unreasonably aggressive.

Mary

"Zootal" wrote in message
...



I know from experience you can put your face 12 inches from a paper wasp
nest, and they will ignore you.

The same applies to 'yellow jackets'.

When springs are warm and wet, they build a lot of nests in the entry ways
to the buildings I used to live in, and I would stop and look up and see a
nest 12 inches from my nose. They never bothered anyone comeing and going.
My daughter came within a couple feet of a bald faced hornet nest, and
they took off after her. That night, the nest met with an untimely demise


It's nothing to smile about. I've taken lots of photographs of social wasp
nests, standing within inches of the entrance. You can't do that with most
honey bee colonies.

....

Don't do that to a yellow jacket nest, or a nest of "killer" bees, if you
can find such a thing - we don't have them up here in the Northwest, but
we did when I lived in Las Vegas, and they are extremely aggressive.

Or extremely defensive - what we consider as not a threat isn't what other
creatures perceive as a threat. We really should consider such
possibilities.

Mary
who has experienced general and dangerous reactions to honeybee and social
wasp stings but still isn't fearful.

Don't do that to a yellow jacket nest, or a nest of "killer" bees, if you
can find such a thing - we don't have them up here in the Northwest, but
we did when I lived in Las Vegas, and they are extremely aggressive.

Or extremely defensive - what we consider as not a threat isn't what other
creatures perceive as a threat. We really should consider such
possibilities.

I find myself more interested in the results then the reasons why. The value
of the life of a human far exceeds the value of a couple hundred
yellowjackets, so I will continue to kill them with extreme prejudice. If
"killer" bees are just being extremely defensive, then good for them. I'll
still kill them with extreme prejudice.

I am more interested in the type of camera that took the shot

Tony

"Zootal" wrote in message
...
Don't do that to a yellow jacket nest, or a nest of "killer" bees, if
you can find such a thing - we don't have them up here in the Northwest,
but we did when I lived in Las Vegas, and they are extremely aggressive.

Or extremely defensive - what we consider as not a threat isn't what
other creatures perceive as a threat. We really should consider such
possibilities.

I find myself more interested in the results then the reasons why. The
value of the life of a human far exceeds the value of a couple hundred
yellowjackets,

Er - what IS the value of a human life and why is it greater than even one
yellowjacket?

so I will continue to kill them with extreme prejudice. If "killer" bees
are just being extremely defensive, then good for them. I'll still kill
them with extreme prejudice.

And you think that by doing that there will be none left in the environment?

Hmmmmm ........

I am more interested in the type of camera that took the shot

Tony

Check the EXIF.

--

Travis in Shoreline Washington

I find myself more interested in the results then the reasons why. The
value of the life of a human far exceeds the value of a couple hundred
yellowjackets,

Er - what IS the value of a human life and why is it greater than even one
yellowjacket?

Is that a rhetorical question? Are you asking why I feel that way? Is it
because you do not know the answer to the question? Or you want to compare
how you would answer it to how I would answer it? To answer a question like
that, it helps to know why it is being asked, and the background of the
person asking. Makes it easier to give an in-context answer that the asker
will understand.

so I will continue to kill them with extreme prejudice. If "killer" bees
are just being extremely defensive, then good for them. I'll still kill
them with extreme prejudice.

And you think that by doing that there will be none left in the
environment?

Hmmmmm ........


OK, now you are just yanking my chain and having fun with me :-)