Digging out my Strawberry barrel i found what look exactly like huge Wasps

Are they Queen wasps in hibernation or would they be young immature Bumble
Bees

If they are queen wasps then i will get rid

If they are immature bumble bees then i will re bury them

nambucca wrote:
Digging out my Strawberry barrel i found what look exactly like huge
Wasps

Are they Queen wasps in hibernation or would they be young immature
Bumble Bees

If they are queen wasps then i will get rid

If they are immature bumble bees then i will re bury them

At the risk of sounding like a cracked record, you shouldn't kill queen
wasps...

They produce offspring which eat aphids for most of the year, and are
annoying for about two weeks in the autumn.

Aphids are your real enemy - they carry viruses which kill your plants, as
well as eating sugar from the plant.

DON'T KILL WASPS (unless they become a major nuisance).

John.

On Mon, 3 Jan 2005 12:47:29 +0000 (UTC), "nambucca"
wrote:

Digging out my Strawberry barrel i found what look exactly like huge Wasps

Are they Queen wasps in hibernation or would they be young immature Bumble
Bees

If they are queen wasps then i will get rid

If they are immature bumble bees then i will re bury them

There's no such thing as an immature bumble bee, in the sense that
once they've emerged from their pupae they're fully mature and look
like bumbles. And bumbles don't reproduce at this time of year. If
they look like bumbles, they're hibernating queen bumbles. If they
look like large wasps, they're hibernating queen wasps.

The life cycles of both bumble bees and wasps are broadly similar,
except that bumbles feed their grubs with nectar and pollen, while
wasps feed their grubs with insects.

Whichever they are, both are beneficial so leave them be.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net

On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 20:15:49 +0000, Chris Hogg wrote:

On Mon, 3 Jan 2005 12:47:29 +0000 (UTC), "nambucca"
wrote:

Digging out my Strawberry barrel i found what look exactly like huge Wasps

Are they Queen wasps in hibernation or would they be young immature Bumble
Bees

If they are queen wasps then i will get rid
SNIP
wasps feed their grubs with insects.

Whichever they are, both are beneficial so leave them be.

Good advice.
I had the common antagonism towards wasps until the day when when I
noticed some flying to my patch of cabbages , sprouts, broccoli etc
which were infested with caterpillars. The wasps settled on each
caterpillar, gripped it and flew off with it. Presumably to enjoy a
good meal.

Since then I have been an advocate for 'leave the wasp alone' .

I have always left wasps alone to the extent of letting them land on me and have a walk about.

The only 2 times I have been stung were both my own fault.
The first time, one landed on me and I hadn't noticed, so it stung me in self defence when I moved in a way it perceived to be threatening.
The second one was similar, but it had climbed up my t- shirt.

Never have I come across (been stung by I mean) the more aggressive species which appears later on in the summer and, according to everyone else, stings for no apparent reason.


Although they may be Queen wasps, have you also considered that there are different types of Hoverfly and moth which look like them and probably very well are hibernating?

Things like the Hornet moth, etc.
I think Clearwings are too small though.

Where abouts in the country do you live??
Having never actually seen a Hornet moth, I cannot really comment much, but they are much more yellower.

I am aware that hoverflies generally are much smaller and slender, and they have compound eyes too, 'cos they are flies after all, so they can instantly be differentiated.

Many non harmful things are black and yellow and can be classed into different groups.
Take a look at the antenae for example.

Rant:
(No offence or anything, but I hate it when people needlessly kill insects and I don't have much time for people who are 'scared' of them... and then kill them needlessly. Instead, just think of them as being the most extraordinary feats of inginuity and micro engineering. When you have seen the likes of a Hummingbird Harkmoth feeding at a flower, it darting and hovering there like a hummingbird, its proboscis extending 2 or 3 inches straight out in front of it so it can reach the pollen, and you can hear the wings drone and flap quite clearly from a distance away, before it bumbles away off again, - then you will know what I mean (apply relevant species where needed).
/Rant

Doug - knows more about insects than flowers, but currently cannot remember many exact details off the top of his head........ (don't you just hate it when that happens?).
I'm a relative beginner at this gardening malarky.

You'll find me out in the spring to Autumn running after beasts and examining plants and trees by day, and by night, I'll be there with my light trap.

I need to find out more about what different plants there are so that it can help me when trying to find particular foodplants.

It all interconnects eventually.

Sorry, enough drivel.

Douglas wrote:

joedoe Wrote:

On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 20:15:49 +0000, Chris Hogg wrote:

Since then I have been an advocate for 'leave the wasp alone' .


I have always left wasps alone to the extent of letting them land on me
and have a walk about.

The only 2 times I have been stung were both my own fault.
The first time, one landed on me and I hadn't noticed, so it stung me
in self defence when I moved in a way it perceived to be threatening.
The second one was similar, but it had climbed up my t- shirt.

Never have I come across (been stung by I mean) the more aggressive
species which appears later on in the summer and, according to everyone
else, stings for no apparent reason.


Although they may be Queen wasps, have you also considered that there
are different types of Hoverfly and moth which look like them and
probably very well are hibernating?

Things like the Hornet moth, etc.
I think Clearwings are too small though.

Where abouts in the country do you live??
Having never actually seen a Hornet moth, I cannot really comment much,
but they are much more yellower.

I am aware that hoverflies generally are much smaller and slender, and
they have compound eyes too, 'cos they are flies after all, so they can
instantly be differentiated.

Many non harmful things are black and yellow and can be classed into
different groups.
Take a look at the antenae for example.

Rant:
(No offence or anything, but I hate it when people needlessly kill
insects and I don't have much time for people who are 'scared' of
them... and then kill them needlessly. Instead, just think of them as
being the most extraordinary feats of inginuity and micro engineering.
When you have seen the likes of a Hummingbird Harkmoth feeding at a
flower, it darting and hovering there like a hummingbird, its proboscis
extending 2 or 3 inches straight out in front of it so it can reach the
pollen, and you can hear the wings drone and flap quite clearly from a
distance away, before it bumbles away off again, - then you will know
what I mean (apply relevant species where needed).
/Rant

Doug - knows more about insects than flowers, but currently cannot
remember many exact details off the top of his head........ (don't you
just hate it when that happens?).
I'm a relative beginner at this gardening malarky.

You'll find me out in the spring to Autumn running after beasts and
examining plants and trees by day, and by night, I'll be there with my
light trap.

I need to find out more about what different plants there are so that
it can help me when trying to find particular foodplants.

It all interconnects eventually.

Sorry, enough drivel.


All this is very true, but sadly nature does not provide a natural
balance at all times. Last autumn I was in infested by wasps, and they
literally stripped one (small) apple tree of almost mature apples, had a
good 60% of my peaches and 99% of a good crop of plums. However I also
believe that nature will tend to defeat you one way or another whatever
you do. Just keep struggling, and remember we are part of nature too.

True.
If it is like that then do something.

Simply though, I hate the people who kill them just for the sake of it (because they are wasps and they are evil you know).

Do you know that hoverflies that have the right markings can go into wasp nests and start to eat the larvae??
If Mr and Mrs general public knew that, then I bet they wouldn't be so hostile to the flies and other beasties that do the same.

If the wasps are a genuine problem to you though.....

I just tend to treat each animal as an equal, so I don't think I would kill them, but I don't know what else there would be to do (my main area of interest lies with moths and small flies you see).

"Malcolm" wrote in message
...

In article , Douglas
writes

joedoe Wrote:
On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 20:15:49 +0000, Chris Hogg wrote:

Since then I have been an advocate for 'leave the wasp alone' .

I have always left wasps alone to the extent of letting them land on me
and have a walk about.

The only 2 times I have been stung were both my own fault.
The first time, one landed on me and I hadn't noticed, so it stung me
in self defence when I moved in a way it perceived to be threatening.
The second one was similar, but it had climbed up my t- shirt.

Never have I come across (been stung by I mean) the more aggressive
species which appears later on in the summer and, according to everyone
else, stings for no apparent reason.

You've not come across it because it doesn't exist! All wasps become more
obvious in the late summer because of changes in what they are doing.
During the spring and first part of the summer, the workers are busy
gathering caterpillars, aphids, etc., to feed the young in the nest and
hardly bother with sweet things and are consequently much less obvious as
a result because they aren't coming into houses except accidentally. Only
when the rearing period is over and the colony is beginning to break up do
the wasps start to satisfy their apparent craving for sugars, turning
their attention to fruit on trees, and any sweet foods left uncovered in
houses or being eaten in the garden, at picnics, etc.

There are very few differences in the levels of aggressive behaviour
between the seven species of social wasps in the UK, with hornet the
largest and the Norwegian wasp the smallest. And there are none that
"stings for no apparent reason". They sting to defend themselves if
someone attacks them, exactly as you describe above. Unfortunately, few
people have your sang froid and will react immediately one lands on them,
often with painful results, whereas if they had left it alone (again as
you advise, though it is very difficult, I know), the chances of being
stung are greatly reduced. The same applies to flapping your arms and
hands to drive them away. They aren't attacking you so don't attack them
back - which as advice must be way up there in the pantheon of "easier
said than done" :-)

I appreciate the good work that wasps do and I even used to collect them as
a kid (I collected insects as a hobby)
and you clearly know about them. I do confess to being completely unable to
avoid flapping my arms at them though.
I have really tried but I am a weak man. As a young kid, I was stung by a
poor unfortunate bumble bee
that got trapped in a window just beside my cot (it is my earliest memory).
I poked at it and it stung and I have been
psychologically ruined ever since. I know all about what I should do but I
genuinely get very agitated when wasps come near me and my arms flap
spontaneously. For what it is worth, I have not been stung once since the
bee incident so I guess statistically
the flapping defencse seems to have the edge here among the tiny sample of
posts we have had so far :-)
although I would much prefer to be brave and stay calm, even if I got an
occasional sting.
My daughter is now 11 and she was also stung as a kid (in a beer garden near
Cambridge when she was between
1 and 2. Fortunately, she never made the connection between the wasp and
the sting. She is a very keen animal lover and stays completely calm if any
wasps come near her so I am pleased that she survived with more sensible
reactions.

Continental hornets are a different matter. I have never seen UK hornets so
I do not know how big they are.
I have seen ones in Germany and Italy that were genuinely COLOSSAL. I AM
NOT EXAGERRATING
(well maybe a little) and I am not referrring to wood wasps. These were
gigantic vespa type characters that blotted out the sun when they flew past.




--
Malcolm

In article , Malcolm
writes

In article , Douglas
writes


Never have I come across (been stung by I mean) the more aggressive
species which appears later on in the summer and, according to everyone
else, stings for no apparent reason.

You've not come across it because it doesn't exist! All wasps become
more obvious in the late summer because of changes in what they are
doing. During the spring and first part of the summer, the workers are
busy gathering caterpillars, aphids, etc., to feed the young in the nest
and hardly bother with sweet things and are consequently much less
obvious as a result because they aren't coming into houses except
accidentally. Only when the rearing period is over and the colony is
beginning to break up do the wasps start to satisfy their apparent
craving for sugars, turning their attention to fruit on trees, and any
sweet foods left uncovered in houses or being eaten in the garden, at
picnics, etc.

They also seem to get dozy, whether as a result of the sugars, rotting
fruit etc, or the cooler weather, and therefore are more likely to be
sitting around somewhere where you disturb them by accident.

There are very few differences in the levels of aggressive behaviour
between the seven species of social wasps in the UK, with hornet the
largest and the Norwegian wasp the smallest. And there are none that
"stings for no apparent reason". They sting to defend themselves if
someone attacks them, exactly as you describe above. Unfortunately, few
people have your sang froid and will react immediately one lands on
them, often with painful results, whereas if they had left it alone
(again as you advise, though it is very difficult, I know), the chances
of being stung are greatly reduced. The same applies to flapping your
arms and hands to drive them away. They aren't attacking you so don't
attack them back - which as advice must be way up there in the pantheon
of "easier said than done" :-)

I remember when I learnt this lesson - at lunch time in primary school.
Friends on each side of me told me to sit still and in fact sat so
closely against me that I couldn't move if I wanted to! The buzzing as
the wasp explored my face and my ear sounded unbelievably loud. But
since then I've never bothered about them, and only been stung when I've
sat on them or been similarly 'aggressive' .... except for last year
when one made its way inside my dress. Even then, training stood me in
good stead and once it had made its presence felt by a sting, I managed
to move discreetly into the greenhouse and strip off without further
stings.

My bugbear now is people around me who go into mad flap mode when a wasp
appears and convert a perfectly calm animal into an angry one determined
to fight its corner.


--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

In article , Malcolm
writes

In article , Kay
writes

They also seem to get dozy, whether as a result of the sugars, rotting
fruit etc, or the cooler weather, and therefore are more likely to be
sitting around somewhere where you disturb them by accident.

That makes me wonder whether fermenting fruit could make them drunk (!),
as it certainly can mammals and birds. Which would mean you not only
have to look out for worse-for-wear wasps, but ones with hang-overs, too
:-)

That's certainly the theory I grew up with, but whether it has any
scientific basis I don't know.

--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"