Although adult wasps and hornets do eat nectar, they stuff the cells of the nests where they lay their eggs with paralyzed insects. For most species, that is caterpillars and spiders. Thus, wasps are beneficial to have around because their developing young feed on insects that are considered by many to be pests. Adults will also prey on other insects and yellowjackets also feed on carrion. For this reason, if you are stung by a yellowjacket, you should cleanse the area thoroughly. My wife was stung by one while camping a few years and she developed a nasty infection causing us to leave early and seek a doctor. Come to find out, there was a road killed deer up the road from our campsite where the hornet was most likely feeding.



Jeff Kozma



Yakima



J c r underscore 5105 at charter dot net



From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu [mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Harsi Parker
Sent: Friday, September 19, 2014 9:12 AM
Cc: Tweeters
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Warning: wasp nest at Wylie Slough



I just wanted to say "thank you" to Jill for trying to educate folks and encourage compassion and discernment when considering how we interact with wasps.



Paper wasps really are extremely tolerant of us humans and we could attempt to reciprocate. :-) Though they are more aggressive and caution is warranted around their nests, Bald-faced Hornets are also nectarivorous and help to pollinate flowers. (For examples, see photos below where pollen is clearly covering the hairs of the body.)



http://bugguide.net/node/view/614150/bgimage

http://bugguide.net/node/view/334785/bgimage

http://bugguide.net/node/view/145290/bgimage





All my best,

Harsi Parker

Vashon, WA



On Fri, Sep 19, 2014 at 8:16 AM, Jill Freidberg <JFreidberg at uwb.edu <mailto:JFreidberg at uwb.edu> > wrote:

Those are paper wasps (also known as umbrella wasps). They are not aggressive, and because they eat flower nectar, they are also a beneficial pollinator. Unlike their nasty cousin, the Bald-faced Hornet, these little wasps rarely sting, even when you're right next to their nest. Please leave them be.

Jill

________________________________________
From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu <mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu> [tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu <mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu> ] on behalf of Hank [hank.heiberg at gmail.com <mailto:hank.heiberg at gmail.com> ]
Sent: Friday, September 19, 2014 6:15 AM
To: Tweeters
Subject: [Tweeters] Warning: wasp nest at Wylie Slough

>
> I should have thought to issue this warning earlier. When Karen and I were on the dike closest to the boat launch at Wylie Slough on 9/10, we found ourselves standing two feet from a wasp nest on a rock on the pond side of the trail. The wasp nest is right at ground level at the end of the dike nearest to the outhouse.
>
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/15018149898/
>
> Hank Heiberg
> Lake Joy
> Carnation, WA
> hankdotheibergatgmaildotcom
>
>
> Sent from my iPad
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