Yellowjackets are probably the most feared enemy of every summer picnic. While bees are minding their business collecting pollen, wily wasps, namely, yellowjackets, are in search of food and attack your plate with greedy ferocity. They have a nasty sting, along with their close cousin, the hornet, that is also highly aggressive.
Yellowjackets and hornets are social wasps. Yellowjackets live in underground nests, whereas hornets build the stereotypical hive that looks like a papery, grey football. Surprisingly, most wasps live a solitary existence and don’t sting. Like bees, wasps bring huge ecological benefits to our ecosystem. They pollinate flowers and food crops as bees do and control the populations of crop pests such as whiteflies, caterpillars and beetle grubs. Many farmers know the benefit of using wasps as natural pest control for food crops, which minimizes the need for toxic pesticides that destroy pollinators and their environment. A small colony of wasps can eat up to 3,000 mosquitos and flies per day, killing off insects that carry human diseases. They keep the environment clean, feeding on dead animals like mini-garbage disposals. While often eating their prey themselves, they also bring food back to their nests to feed their growing larvae.
Bees have started to attract a lot of public interest and support as news of their decline has made headlines. Not so for wasps, which are also threatened due to climate change, habitat loss and pesticides. Because they play an important role in the ecosystem, wasps also deserve appreciation and support, as do all the other pollinators in decline.
A Mud Dauber wasp on a Bird of Paradise flower
