By Prof Adam HartUniversity of Gloucestershire
25 August 2017
A new citizen science survey aims to shed light on that
fixture of summertime in the outdoors: the wasp. Though much maligned, these
fascinating creatures perform a vital ecological role, say scientists.
The only thing more certain to spoil an August Bank Holiday
weekend BBQ than a sudden cloudburst? The arrival of wasps.
At this time of the year, it can sometimes seem as if every
outdoor activity is plagued by these yellow-and-black striped insects buzzing
around your head and landing on your food and drink.
Wasps aren't just annoying - if you are unlucky, you might end
up with a sharp reminder that wasps, like their close relatives the honeybee,
pack a powerful sting. That combination of nuisance and pain makes wasps many
people's least favourite animals.
Perhaps more than any other insect, wasps are badly in need of
a change in public opinion. As well as having fascinating lives, they are
extremely important in the environment and face problems similar to those of
their cherished, but often no less annoying, cousins the bees.
As the summer approaches its end, many will wish for it, but a
world without wasps would most certainly not be a better place.
Social types
The insects we most commonly identify as "wasps" are
the social wasps. Social wasps (called yellow-jackets in some places) live in
colonies consisting of hundreds or thousands of more-or-less sterile female
workers and their much larger mother, the egg-laying queen.
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