it’s kinda funny how the core issue of these posts is really just that people say “wasp” when they mean “hornet”
wasps are fine, most wasps are barely noticable and couldn’t give less of a toss about our existence.
hornets are the terrible ones, especially the kinds that grow way way way way larger than they have any right of doing, at least craneflies have the common decency to be thin and seemingly incapable of guiding their flight.
Bees are like carpenters, they carry a knife but you’re not worried they might stab you for no reason.
Wasps are like meth heads.
I’m with you. There are 3 European Paper wasp nests under my patio that have been there since spring. I have yet to be stung.
I’ve been thinking to get a bee suit to move them in the event they do sting me. Otherwise, I’ll remove the nests this winter.
When they start getting cold they might start stinging because why not? They’re gonna die anyways.
Shitty wasps like Yellow Jackets give almost all the other wasps a bad reputation. Yellow Jackets are mean and spiteful, even when they aren’t protecting their nest.
Most other eusocial wasps are pretty docile, unless you mess with their nest or really go out of your way to harass them.
In many parts of the world, like my own, there are far more species of solitary wasps than eusocial wasps. Solitary wasps are nearly all non-aggressive, they don’t have communal nests to defend, and they basically don’t have time to fuck around with stinging shit because they are too busy building a chamber for their eggs, collecting food for their upcoming progeny, and trying to stay fed and hydrated while doing it.
So what I’m getting at is that most wasps I encounter on a regular basis are pretty chill. Really, this goes for bees as well. Most of the ones I see on a regular basis are solitary types and non-aggressive. The most aggressive bees I tend to encounter are male carpenter bees. They are highly territorial and they’ll even buzz a human to scare them off. However, there’s no threat. Male bees and wasps cannot sting, they do not even have stingers.
The most aggressive bees I tend to encounter are male carpenter bees. They are highly territorial and they’ll even buzz a human to scare them off. However, there’s no threat.
No threat of stinging, anyway. They will absolutely wreak havoc on a wood framed house.
bzzzzbzzzBZZZZZ
Yes, sir, I see you. I see your little pile of sawdust on the fence, too. No, I’m not going to screw with it. I’m just installing this gate latch."
bzzzbzbbzbbzbzbzbzbzzzzz
This would go a lot faster if I didn’t have to keep ducking.
BZZZZZZ
Okay, I’m done, jeez.
BZZZZZzzzbzzzzbzzzz
…aaaaand under the fascia board it goes. Shit.
As far as I’m aware, it’s the females that dig the holes in wood as a nesting chamber, not the males. So I don’t think the males are even a thread to a wood framed house.
We have paper wasps around here. They bump you before they sting you. Like “hey bump we got a nest here bump stay away bump” I’ve only been stung when I was shaking something out next to a nest and they saw it as aggressive + too close.
Yep, lots of bees and wasps do this because they don’t actually want to sting defensively if it can be avoided, so they are merely trying to intimidate a potential threat. Unfortunately, it’s very common for people to panic and behave erratically in response, and that tends to make the critters feel like they are in danger, so they do end up stinging. It basically becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy.
No, of course not. I’ve put out traps for them before. Then we’re really bad when I first moved into this house and I killed a lot the first two years I lived here. I rarely see them now but I still see them occasionally. If their numbers get crazy again I’ll put traps out again. For better or worse they’re the most common solitary bee in my area. I probably see at least 10x as many carpenter bees as bumble bees. I know because I’m always looking for those fuzzy butts lol.
Bees, wasps, ok, got it.
But mosquitoes? I’be yet to find a biologist that would advocate for preservation of mosquitos. Kill them with fire.
There’s a backstory that’s revealed throughout the first Lilo and Stitch movie that Agent Bubbles was in the CIA in Roswell NM in the 60s and was able to smooth over an intergalactic incident by convincing the intergalactic government that earth is a critical ecosystem for protecting the endangered mosquito and to classify Earth as a wildlife preserve.
So there’s jokes peppered throughout the film as Pleakley joins the escaped prisoner capture mission on Earth to ensure minimal disruption to the mosquito food chain.
In case its not obvious, I recently rewatched that movie with my kids
Curious how the non-humans will look in the live-action version coming out. They got Stitch right, at least.
almost right, still looks like an animated plush toy rather than an animal. they’re so close to getting out of the uncanny valley but didn’t quite make it
That thing we do where we dump genetically modified mosquitoes into an area to make sterile mosquitoes and kill them off is awesome because the gene dies out after a few years. It’d essentially a temporary and mild extinction we can do. It’s amazing because we don’t even need to decide if it’s correct to kill off a species.
Mosquitos are one of the most prolific pollinators, I think you’d find most biologists would tell you this.
really, they are that relevant in pollination too? I thought it was some nutrient feedback link from large fauna to lake environments.
Here’s some mostly true facts about them in an easy to digest way:
https://youtu.be/Hz_DslzN2IA?si=NjBOK8LQxEDV_BBB
But yes. Mosquitos are more than just blood suckers.
Damn, can’t even hate on mosquitos. Where will this ever end?
BTW I recently learned the itchiness is just allergies. Some people aren’t allergic to mosquito bites and donate their blood to them without consequences. Other than the odd transmitted disease, of course.
Frankly I’m waiting for humans to start infecting mosquitos with something instead of the other way around.
