For real though, aggressive wasp species give the chill species a bad name. It’s like being mad at bumblebees because Asian giant hornets exist.
Yellow jackets for example are definitely unpleasant: they buzz you when you try to eat outdoors, don’t get the message to move on when swatted at, and constantly carry an attitude of “come at me bro.” However my local species of paper wasp (I live in the Pacific Northwest of the US) is crazy chill and very conflict avoidant: they don’t buzz or chase humans, don’t show interest in human food or garbage, and will get out of your way if disturbed (assuming you’re not attacking their home)
In fact, we actively attract paper wasps to our garden by planting western yarrow, and even have plans to erect a wasp box for them to safely make a home in (no I’m not joking). Why? Because in addition to being peaceful members of our garden ecosystem–alongside butterflies, ladybugs, frogs, salamanders, birds, and other critters–they are dedicated hunters of garden pests such as cabbage white caterpillars. As someone who grows a lot of kale for its year-round hardiness, I cannot express how much I appreciate wasps’ dutiful patrol of our brassicas and other crops. And if you can get a population to establish themselves near your garden they will indeed be dutiful in scouting out pests.
It took me a while to shake off my all-wasps-are-bastards attitude toward them, but I really cannot express how much paper wasps have become garden bros, and it makes me sad to see my bros vilified.
I vote for more people effectively making “pet insect box” of species that hunt down pests
The only “irrational fear” I have that I know of is of wasps, but your example is exactly how I came to appreciating wasps, cabbage moth caterpillars and all lol
We don’t see too many paper wasps where I am, so I had to accept that the yellow jackets in my garden cared more about the caterpillars than me and I thankfully hadn’t gotten stung or chased the whole time I had that garden. I had to move and now the real pest I have to fight are deer, scumbag deer… Destroy your garden and your car, some even in the same day lol
Wasps are also pollinators and are just as vital to the ecosystems they live in as bees and other native insects.
Humans: “Give wasps a chance!”
Wasps: “Fuck humans. Fuck them all. Over and over. With your ass spikes. Bonus points if you take out an eye.”
Only some wasp is nasty. There’s a huge amount of species of them that’s very important to the ecology, not aggressive, and also am pollinator. Fig wasp, for example, is crucial for pollinate fig and isn’t nasty at all.
Until they’ve had a drink. A few glasses of that fermented fig juice and they think they’re all Bald Faced Hornets.
Wasps don’t give a fuck about you; don’t walk up to their nests and slap them and you’ll be fine. They’re defensive creatures rather than aggressive.
They also serve as excellent pest control. I tend to just leave them be unless they build a nest near a door that would be problematic.
Hornets, on the other hand, are indeed aggressive and can indeed go fuck themselves.
Wasps don’t give a fuck about you; don’t walk up to their nests and slap them and you’ll be fine. They’re defensive creatures rather than aggressive.
You clearly have never encountered a yellowjacket, let alone lived your whole life in a country where yellowjackets are (at least seemingly) 99.999% of all the wasps.
I can count on one hand, two at most, how many of the times being stung by a yellowjacket was my own fault for bothering it and the total number of times I’ve been stung is hundreds if not thousands.
Plus, I believe the vast majority of wasps are solitary and non-swarming (someone can probably fact check me on this), and thus not as aggressive as the species people typically think about which are just trying to protect their nest. I have plenty of wasps around my yard and I’ve never been stung by a single one.
I believe the vast majority of wasps are solitary and non-swarming (someone can probably fact check me on this), and thus not as aggressive as the species people typically think about
Varies a LOT depending on geographical location. As far as I’ve gathered, almost all of the wasps in the American Pacific Northwest are the totally chill kind, whereas here in Denmark, 99.999% are the flying terrorists known as yellowjackets.
My two most notable encounters with yellow jackets (here we call them European wasps or Vespula Germanica) went pretty much like this:
oh shit, there’s a wasp buzzing around on my path. Act cool, don’t show your fear, just move on and nothing will happen
Wasp: stings
You bitch, just go extinct already
In my experience, most wasps are okay.
Yellow jackets are straight up sadistic assholes however.
That’s one of the worst nightmares I could come up with, if given the task…
How did it end?
Me: Swinging at wasp with a fly swatter.
Wasp: “You don’t scare me. In fact, I’m going to pretend you’re not even here. La La La! I can’t see you!”
Me: Standing there minding my own business while a wasp flies into me.
Wasp: “THIS MEANS WAR MOTHERFUCKER!! I’M GONNA RAIN HELL DOWN ON YOU THE LIKES OF WHICH YOU’VE NEVER SEEN!!!”
They do eat mosquitos, so that’s cool.
I know not of who you speak, but have you considered that it’s mosquitoes making accounts to defend themselves?
Whut no they don’t. Not that I’m anti wasp I’m actually in the pro wasp group. Of course I don’t want a nest in my house or something but I don’t mind them being just around in general in my flower patches
