Articles from
The Tattler
"Tales from the Farm"

December, 2002  Vol. 2, No. 12

We finally finished removing and extracting our honey crop. I really like to get the job all done by Thanksgiving so that we can keep up with our Christmas Candle orders.

I am always getting questions from people about yellow jackets. Quite often they confuse yellow jackets (wasps) with honeybees. We are often asked if all the "bees" in the vineyard produce our honey & I remind them that they are not honeybees at all but yellow jackets. I tell them that they are as different as dogs & cats. Here is some information on yellow jackets:

Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets

ORDER: Hymenoptera - FAMILY: Vespidae (paper nest)

Description: Wasps in this family are social Insects that take care of their young. Most wasps are solitary but others, like Yellowjackets and Hornets live in large colonies, consisting of one queen and many workers. Some of these wasps are dark brown but most are striped yellow and black Bee-like insects. They nest in grey or tan, oval or irregular-shaped, papery nests in trees and under house eaves or even in the ground. Some move into the house. Most are beneficial as they kill many pest insects around the yard, but Yellowjackets and Hornets may become pests when colonies grow in size and workers invade people's habitat looking for food. When agitated they can render a painful sting. Some people are allergic to these stings and need medical attention immediately (see Comments below). Wasps can sting more than once, which is not the case with Honeybees, as their stingers are hooked and remain stuck in the victim. Hornets are like Yellowjackets but larger and could also be dark brown to black in colour. They produce tan-coloured nests. Some Wasps make umbrella-shaped nests and are known as Umbrella Wasps.

Stages: 4

Generations Per Year: Many

Over-winter as: Young newly mated females under bark, in tree crevices etc. These females are the queens for next year's colonies.

Egg Stage: Laid in cells of nests composed of paper, which adults make by chewing wood.

Larva Stage: White grubs are found inside cells in the nests. These are fed daily on juices of insects and sweets. They last from 9 days to 22 days. A colony could produce as many as 10,000 grubs.

Pupa Stage: Pupae are cocooned in a silky canopy produced by rolling in their own saliva. This stage lasts about a week. Afterwards they emerge either as sterile female workers or in August as "sexual" males and females.

Adult Stage: Adults are bee-like insects with yellow or black striped abdomens. The workers build cells, look for food, nurse the larvae and protect the colony. The "sexual" males mate with the "sexual" females. These females store the sperm to fertilize next years eggs. These are the queens that overwinter in protected holes and crevices. The workers and males die off before winter. Empty nests will not be revisited the following year.

Attack: Flies, Caterpilars, Cutworms, Aphids, Beetles etc. A colony of wasps could devour more than 200 insects per day.

Damage: Holes in ripe fruit.

Solutions

Physical Control: Remove and destroy nests. Do this at night. In the house wasp-nests can be located quite a distance away from the entry holes. If you feel this is a problem or the wasps enter rooms it is best to contact a licenced pest control operator. This person will find the nest and dispose of it. Outdoors pour boiling water into ground nests. Use Wasp Traps (purchased from hardware stores) to draw these insects away from patios, picnic areas etc.. Bait these traps with sweet liquid or ripe bananas.

Or hang a piece of raw meat or fish or liver on a string over a bucket of water. Add a little detergent in the water to break the surface tension. As these insects collect food they get so heavy that they can't fly anymore and drop into the water and drown.

Biological Control: A skunk will eat wasps.

Chemical Control: Hornet & Wasp Aerosols and Hornet & Wasp Foam. (purchased from hardware stores) Treat nests after dark. If you have to use a flashlight, cover it with red cellophane to make it invisible to wasps . Spray the entrance holes. Once you hear them or they start flying out, walk away (Do NOT run). Repeat this every evening until you no longer see or hear the wasps. They will not return to the nest.

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When using pesticides always read the entire label on the container and follow the directions.

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Comments: Wasp venom contains histamine and a substance that dissolves red blood cells. Some people get hives, have trouble breathing, experience a rapid drop in bloodpressure etc. Shots of adrenaline or epinephrine may stop the allergic reaction. Call a doctor immediately. There are about 20.000 wasp species in the world. They range in size from 3 mm to 8 cm. Most are solitary and predators but some (the most noticable ones) are pests and live in colonies. Some small wasp varieties are parasites and lay eggs on or in caterpillars, aphids etc.. When these eggs hatch the wasp larvae will feed on it's host eventually killing it. Some of these beneficial wasp species are: Braconid Wasps (use Caterpillars and Cabbageworms), Chalcid Wasps (use Aphids, Scale, Mealybugs, Beetle larvae etc.), Ichneumon Wasps (use Caterpillars) and Trichogramma Wasps (use Cabbage Loopers, Cutworms etc.).

Mud Daubers (Family: Sphecidae) make nests from mud in which they deposit eggs and also a paralyzed insect for the larvae to feed on when they hatch.