Do we need wasps?

Hammer89

What do they do, apart from spark panic in previously calm people? I can't tell you how often I've been smoking out my bathroom window this week, only to throw it away at the slightest sound of a buzz. They keep coming in. Sometimes I hear the buzz inside and think, 'How did you get in?' and the obvious answer is, he was already there, waiting.

I hate them. So, do we need them? I'd say no. I'm sure some wee dick will come in and say, 'Well, actually wasps are vital for our ecosystem' and give some wee dick explanation as to why, but really nobody would bat an eyelid if they all suddenly died. Heartless, I know, but let's call a spade a spade.

Odhinn

Hammer89 wrote: »

What do they do, apart from spark panic in previously calm people? I can't tell you how often I've been smoking out my bathroom window this week, only to throw it away at the slightest sound of a buzz. They keep coming in. Sometimes I hear the buzz inside and think, 'How did you get in?' and the obvious answer is, he was already there, waiting.

I hate them. So, do we need them? I'd say no. I'm sure some wee dick will come in and say, 'Well, actually wasps are vital for our ecosystem' and give some wee dick explanation as to why, but really nobody would bat an eyelid if they all suddenly died. Heartless, I know, but let's call a spade a spade.

They only want a pull of the fag. Blow smoke at them and they'll give you a fly by salute.

tabby aspreme

They eat aphids , which would destroy a lot of crops, if not controlled.

SEPT 23 1989

Left a can of beer unattended one summers evening and one of these b@stards fancied a sip in the can and I ended up looking like some tramp out of love island

McDermotX

Do we need them ? Question you should be asking is whether they need us ?

Your Face

They keep us in a state of readiness for The Event.

roroliam

If you smoked a good quility of cigarette like Major and not crap like John Player Blue you won't get bothered by the wasps. They work for certain cigarette companies. Philip Morris are one of the biggest employers of wasps.

Achasanai

tabby aspreme wrote: »

They eat aphids , which would destroy a lot of crops, if not controlled.

They are also very important as pollinators. Also, a lot of what you think are wasps are actually bees, but they can look very similar.

goose2005

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-41042948

Pero_Bueno

Grandeeod

Pollinators are very important. I have a long back garden and I always leave just under a third of it uncut and fenced off. Neighbours with over zealous lawnmower ambitions think I'm lazy. But they are just garden artists who want to mow it down and all over. Fook em. Pollinators are badly needed and thrive more on wild flowers than any of your Woodies bought flowery ****e. Even the Tidy Towns gang have realised this and there's a prize for sensible people who understand pollinators.

artanevilla

If the end of wasps meant the collapse of the world's ecological sysytems I would happily live in that post-apocalyptic wasp-free waste land.

Poor Uncle Tom

They make real good pets, keep all but the most persistent away, the sting in the tail?

is the sting in the tail.........

Odhinn

Achasanai wrote: »

They are also very important as pollinators. Also, a lot of what you think are wasps are actually bees, but they can look very similar.

So wasps are essentially skinhead bees?

emaherx

artanevilla wrote: »

If the end of wasps meant the collapse of the world's ecological sysytems I would happily live in that post-apocalyptic wasp-free waste land.

Even if you had no beer?

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2012/07/30/you-can-thank-wasps-for-your-bread-beer-and-wine/#.XL4WWGgo80M

Cee-Jay-Cee

Grandeeod wrote: »

Pollinators are very important. I have a long back garden and I always leave just under a third of it uncut and fenced off. Neighbours with over zealous lawnmower ambitions think I'm lazy. But they are just garden artists who want to mow it down and all over. Fook em. Pollinators are badly needed and thrive more on wild flowers than any of your Woodies bought flowery ****e. Even the Tidy Towns gang have realised this and there's a prize for sensible people who understand pollinators.

Tell the truth now...the flex on your flymo only reaches 2/3 of the way down the garden and it has nothing to do with you being one with the bees.

backspin.

They are violent thugs.

EICVD

Hammer89 wrote: »

What do they do, apart from spark panic in previously calm people? I can't tell you how often I've been smoking out my bathroom window this week, only to throw it away at the slightest sound of a buzz. They keep coming in. Sometimes I hear the buzz inside and think, 'How did you get in?' and the obvious answer is, he was already there, waiting.

I hate them. So, do we need them? I'd say no. I'm sure some wee dick will come in and say, 'Well, actually wasps are vital for our ecosystem' and give some wee dick explanation as to why, but really nobody would bat an eyelid if they all suddenly died. Heartless, I know, but let's call a spade a spade.

The thing is, when you die off how many people will actually care? Your friends, family & acquaintances sure, but in the grand scheme of things you’ll be just like a wasp

begbysback

Had an altercation with one today, big fecker, took a swipe with the paper and clonked him on the head, tough fecker didn’t blink and came straight at me. He landed on the window so I opened it and let him out, so beware - there’s an angry wasp out there somewhere just waiting for revenge.

NickNickleby

Yesterday I was out in the back garden, sitting in my chair at peace with the world. My reverie was disturbed by a rasping sound. Eventually located the source at the top of my garden wall. There was a wasp, chewing away at my trellis. I had previously noticed damage to the trellis an assumed it was caused by the neighbours cats sharpening their claws. From the point where the wasp was nibbling away to my ear was about 2 meters.

Anyway, as much as I hate them, not knowing if they are useful or not, I chose not to disturb/destroy it. It eventually flew away with its payload, presumably to add an extension to its home, and I was grateful to note it didn't fly into MY shed .

TheValeyard

emaherx

Hammer89 wrote: »

I hate them. So, do we need them? I'd say no. I'm sure some wee dick will come in and say, 'Well, actually wasps are vital for our ecosystem' and give some wee dick explanation as to why, but really nobody would bat an eyelid if they all suddenly died. Heartless, I know, but let's call a spade a spade.

They play an important part in the production of yeast, so if you like beer, bread or wine then yes you need wasps. (They are also pollinators so yea important part of eco system etc...)

Pero_Bueno

Odhinn wrote: »

So wasps are essentially skinhead bees?

Worse, Nazi bees ...

foxy farmer

Yrs back one day after some business in Dept of Agriculture office in Clonakilty walking back to the car I heard a woman's voice behind me saying
"Get out, get out, go on get out you, get out."
I turned around to see a woman standing inside an open window waving paper. She suddenly realised i was looking at her.
"Oh sorry" says she I'm not talking to you I'm talking to the fecking waashp"
I can still hear the other staff roaring laughing.

Atoms for Peace

roroliam wrote: »

If you smoked a good quility of cigarette like Major and not crap like John Player Blue you won't get bothered by the wasps. They work for certain cigarette companies. Philip Morris are one of the biggest employers of wasps.

What about Benson & Hedges, Buzzing Hornets.

Anesthetize

They are the travelling community of insects.

Bob Harris

Hammer89 wrote: »

What do they do, apart from spark panic in previously calm people? I can't tell you how often I've been smoking out my bathroom window this week, only to throw it away at the slightest sound of a buzz. They keep coming in. Sometimes I hear the buzz inside and think, 'How did you get in?' and the obvious answer is, he was already there, waiting.

Stop smoking out the bathroom window. Problem solved.

Wanderer78

Bees, wasps and hornets, interesting little critters

gozunda

I know this is supposed to be a bumblebee - but I always reckoned it sounded more like an angry wasp


https://archive.org/details/FlightOfTheBumblebee

Necro

Do we need them? Probably.

Do we want them? Hell no. I make it my personal mission to kill every last one that comes across my path.

Buzzing stripy fcukers.

They also help keep the fly population under control. The adults, who aren't carnivores, actively hunt flies to feed the young, who are. If the fly is too large they'll cut it in half, take it back to the nest, then successfully find its way back to the other half to collect it.

Hammer89

Hammer89 wrote: »

What do they do, apart from spark panic in previously calm people? I can't tell you how often I've been smoking out my bathroom window this week, only to throw it away at the slightest sound of a buzz. They keep coming in. Sometimes I hear the buzz inside and think, 'How did you get in?' and the obvious answer is, he was already there, waiting.

Turns out there was a nest the size of a golf ball under the toilet bowl. Thankfully the wasps had vacated the premises but I got an awful fright when I saw it drop.

http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/add-checklist-new-wasp-ireland/
We have parasitic wasps in Ireland - they attack and lay their eggs in the bodies of other wasps and insects - the eggs hatch and the larvae eat the insides of their host.

I just wanted to share that with people.

Graces7

Leave them alone and they will echo that.

When I was market trading, folk used to perform the " wasp dance"! YOU know! One sight of a wasp and they are waving their arms. looking aggressive. so of course the wasp attacks, as we are bigger than they are

So I started leaving a jar of diluted jam open near the stall; they are very hungry and dying so it was kindness, and never a problem..

The only time I was stung was when one had chosen my hat to sleep in and when I put the hat on ! OUCH!

And yes we need them as pollinators

super_furry

They have something to do with figs is all I know. I think there's dead wasps in figs or something like that

Not too long ago the Chinese government decided they didn't really need sparrows. Didn't end well. Turns out the sparrows were eating the locusts, so when the sparrows were wiped out the locusts ate all the crops causing a famine which killed millions of people.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Pests_Campaign

Funny old world.

s7ryf3925pivug

I caught two on film. killing flies in my garden during the summer. It's pretty dramatic, they really go for them, and the flies struggle to escape. It takes longer than you'd expect. I copied it from and wiped it from my phone since but might post it later.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

super_furry wrote: »

They have something to do with figs is all I know. I think there's dead wasps in figs or something like that

Yes and No. It's a lengthy explanation, so I'll let this link explain.

https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/blogs/are-there-really-wasps-your-figs

bnt

At this time of year the cold makes them dozy, and they'll just wander in to places looking for warmth. You can just scoop them up on a piece of paper, gently, and take them out again.

Marhay70

At this time of year a lot of fruit drops and is left to rot, during the rotting process the juices ferment and turn to alcohol. Wasps feed on this fruit and drink the juice so if you are attacked by a wasp bear in mind that it is probably pissed and like the local soak on a Friday night, unlikely to listen to rational argument.