Wasp

 

The different species of wasps mainly belong to the genus Vespula, in which we distinguish:
 

• The common wasp in the nest located in the ground, in the cavities of trees and habitat, it has a size of 15-20 mm.

• The German wasp also nests in the ground, in the cavities of trees or habitat.

• The wood wasp in the nest suspended from small branches or located in the ground.

• The cuckoo wasp, a solitary species depositing its eggs in the nest of red wasps.

• The red wasp at the nest located in the ground.

 

Wasps feed on fruits, apples, pears and plums. In autumn the males and the queens hatch and mate, the males then die immediately, the fertilized queens overwinter alone (in old nests, wooden parts of houses, outbuildings, cellars, attics and attics...). They emerge in the spring to build a new nest located in the ground, in buildings, on a tree or in a bush. These nests are made of a kind of very characteristic cardboard paper that the queen makes by chewing wood and plant debris with saliva. This material provides thermal and mechanical protection (against attacks).
 

The larvae hatch a few days after being laid and are initially fed by the queen. After a few weeks they develop a silky cocoon and will lock themselves in a cell to undergo their pupation. Six weeks after laying the first generation of workers emerges, they are females smaller than the queen. The newly hatched workers take over from the queen to enlarge and maintain the nest, care for and feed the larvae, search for food. They will add radial cells around those initially built by the queen; a nest can have up to eight floors. The workers will then seek, to feed the larvae, food with a high content of certain proteins (flies, caterpillars, spiders, etc.), in exchange the larvae will exude a very nourishing sweet secretion which provides a food supplement to the fruits usually consumed. by the workers.
 

A formed wasp nest can contain up to 20,000 individuals. As the cold and bad weather arrive, the nests die with their workers while the fertilized queens go into hibernation.

​

​

Nuisances and dangers of wasps
 

No Hymenoptera can be considered dangerous. Because of their role in nature, they are useful species. The venom developed by the vespids, kinin, is very powerful, often harmless if one is only the subject of a bite. This can be dangerous if it is badly placed (stung airways can be blocked by edema). A large amount of simultaneous bites can be dangerous by the accumulation of venom. Phenomena of allergies to kinin have been noted. These species can therefore sometimes pose a problem depending on the size and location of the swarms in relation to the habitat. Wasps may also raid fruit crops for food and damage buildings to obtain wood for their nests. The jams and syrups which they love can be the object of real raids at the end of summer when, freed from their task of feeding the larvae, they dedicate themselves to a personal quest for these foods.
 

The pain caused by a bite is effectively soothed with a compress of ammonia, milky poppy juice, onion juice, olive oil or even salt water. In the event of a sting inside the mouth (by drinking from a glass where a wasp was hiding, for example), an immediate reflex would be to rinse your mouth thoroughly with salt water, which neutralizes the swelling.

​

​