Description

Wasps have minimal hair and are brightly colored, appearing more “armored” than bees. They are hunters of other insects, including bees. Their mouthparts are chewing and sucking.

Adult wasps have a stinger (ovipositor) from which venom is secreted by a special gland. Unlike bees, wasps survive a sting.

They have a hard exoskeleton divided into a head, thorax and abdomen. Like all insects, they have 3 pairs of legs. In addition to compound eyes, they also have simple eyes arranged in a triangular pattern on the front of the head.

Wasps form smaller colonies than bees. Their nests have hexagonal cells like bees, but are gray and cardboard-like, made of the female's saliva and wood fibers.

Nests are built in unpredictable locations such as walls, roofs, trees, warehouses, chimneys, and their shape varies depending on the species of wasp. Different species build different types of nests. The wasp society

The wasp society:  There are two main categories of wasps: solitary and social.

Solitary wasps live and operate alone, with most not building nests.

Social wasps live in colonies of thousands of members. They build nests and in some cases not all members are capable of reproducing.

Generally, only the queen and male wasps can mate, while the majority of the colony is made up of sterile female workers.

Ecology: Wasps are important for the balance of species in nature.

For every species of insect pest, there is a species of wasp that is a predator or parasite on it.

Parasitic wasps are increasingly used in agriculture for pest control.

Wasps are an important link in the food chain.

Relationship with man: They are not necessarily aggressive insects, but due to their more frequent contact with humans, their stings are more frequent than bees.

Rarely, hypersensitive individuals may experience a severe anaphylactic reaction requiring immediate medical attention. These individuals should be trained in administering an adrenaline injection.

Combat

It starts with locating the nest, monitoring the movement of the wasps.

The nest can be sprayed directly with insecticide and then destroyed or burned, preferably in the evening hours.

In an integrated control system, food-attracting traps are used in parallel for better results. The wasps are attracted by non-toxic bait and are trapped inside, unable to get out again.

The traps are placed 6-7 meters from the nest and are reusable. For wasps, sugar bait is used, while for blackflies, protein bait is used. They are placed low, at 0.50-0.70 centimeters.

Traditional methods: Rubbing cloves to repel wasps because of the smell they hate.

Placing half an onion on the bite site for 20 minutes, as enzymes in the onion degrade some of the toxins.