Wasps are distinguishable from bees by their pointed lower abdomens and the narrow waist, called a “petiole”, that separates the abdomen from the thorax. Essentially, wasps are narrow and pointed, while bees are rounder.
Wasps come in every color imaginable, from the familiar yellow to brown, metallic blue, and even bright red. Generally, the brighter colored species are in the Vespidae, or stinging wasp, family. Most of the Irish ones are in the yellow and brown colouring.
All wasps build nests, whereas bees secrete wax to construct their nests. Wasps create their familiar papery homes from wood fibers scraped with their hard mandibles and chewed into a pulp. In early summer, you’ll see wasps on soft scrap wood, old paper, and other kinds of waste, gathering material for the nest. Social wasp colonies (as opposed to solitary wasp nests) are started from scratch each spring by a queen who was fertilized the previous year and survived the winter by hibernating in a warm, dry place. When she emerges, she builds a small nest and rears a starter brood of worker females. These workers then take over expanding the nest, building multiple six-sided cells into which the queen continually lays eggs. By late summer, a colony can have more than 5,000 individuals, all of whom, including the founding queen, die off at winter. Only newly fertilized queens survive the cold to restart the process in spring.
Never try to tackle a wasp nest yourself! They can become vicious when provoked. Our technicians have all the gear and training to handle them.
Call us today if you have a wasp issue (01) 4511795