Wild wasps is a common folk name for all wasps that build their nests away from human buildings. However, by and large, almost all of these insects can be called wild, including several types of paper wasps, which sometimes tend to settle close to human habitations, where they find food in abundance.
Sometimes ordinary hornets also settle in summer cottages and in houses. But this happens much less frequently, and in general, hornets are typical large forest wasps that settle among the abundant foliage of trees or in dense shrubs.
But not everything is so simple in the aspen kingdom: in vegetable gardens and orchards, in front gardens and flowerbeds right next to houses, many wild wasps settle, the larvae of which develop twenty to thirty centimeters below the surface of the earth, and their parents fuss around our feet, getting food. for your offspring. These insects do not catch our eye and are often not even perceived as wasps only because they do not all have a characteristic yellow-black striped coloration and, moreover, many of them lead a solitary lifestyle and are never so numerous as to cause the inconvenience of their presence.
However, solitary wild wasps can attract attention. For example, the photo below shows a giant scoli, one of the largest European wasps. Such a large black insect simply cannot help but catch the eye:
Another example is the wasp wasp, which catches the eye primarily due to its unusual bright color. However, only a person who is well versed in biology recognizes wild wasps in them:
Public wasps: what they look like, where they live and what they eat
Public wild wasps are the most famous and easily recognizable. It is they who are usually meant when talking about "wild wasps". This group includes several families, for example:
- polysty wasps, which include the well-known yellow and black paper wasps (in general, the family includes several hundred species, but only 2-3 of them are habitual human neighbors);
- vespin wasps (in other words, hornets) are the largest social wasps and one of the largest representatives of wasps in general;
- wasps-polybiins - American "analogues" of European paper wasps.
The main feature of all types of social wasps is that they live in large families in which one female, called the uterus, lays eggs, and several tens or hundreds of workers take care of the offspring, get food and protect the nest.
It is interesting
All worker wasps in the family are females that are not capable of reproduction. Their life expectancy ranges from a few weeks to several months, and they usually do not survive the winter.
Solitary wasps, fearless and unobtrusive
If social wasps are known for catching and carrying various insects (sometimes even quite large ones) to the nest, then solitary wasps literally amaze with their fearlessness in obtaining food for larvae. Many of their species catch poisonous spiders (and some even specialize only in tarantulas or salpugs), as well as bedbugs, praying mantises, and bees.
The victim is paralyzed by a sting prick and falls into a previously prepared hole in the ground, where an egg is laid on her immobilized, but still living body. The further development of events is even less attractive: the larva, hatching from the egg, bites into the body of the “canned food” and begins to methodically eat it.
First of all, those organ systems are eaten from the prey, the loss of which will not lead to the instant death of the immobilized insect - the larva begins its nutrition from the digestive, excretory and reproductive systems of the victim, and only at the end of its development passes to the respiratory organs and the nervous system. This "approach" allows you to save a supply of fresh meat for the longest possible time.
Solitary wasps differ markedly from the public ones in constitution and coloration. They usually have a long, slender body and dark colors. However, among them there are brightly colored species. For example, the philant bee wolf, which is very reminiscent of paper wasps in color:
Some road wasps have an overly elongated body, and some glitter wasps are so brightly colored that they can compete with butterflies in beauty:
Single wasps are also affected by their size. So, for example, some tropical species of scoli are the largest wasps in general.
In addition, scolia are interesting in that they do not even build secluded minks for their larvae. Caring for their offspring is limited to searching for large beetle larvae in the ground, paralyzing them with their sting and laying eggs for prey. In the future, the wasp larva will eat the beetle larva right in its underground shelter.
There is also a very interesting group of German wasps that parasitize in the nests of their social counterparts and lay their eggs on larvae, for example, of the same paper wasps. Females of many species of German wasps do not have wings, and their body is abundantly pubescent - outwardly they resemble fluffy ants, which is why they are often called "velvet ants".
Reproduction of wild wasps, places of their settlements and lifestyle
A family of wild social donkeys usually settles in secluded forest shelters (hollows, burrows, in dense bushes), but can choose, for example, rock crevices and other secluded places. Here, the female queen begins to build a nest from the chewed bark of young trees resembling paper, which is being completed by working individuals.
In large hornets, the nest can be about a meter high and about 70-80 cm in diameter.
The main purpose of the nest of wild forest wasps is to protect and provide the larvae with normal conditions for their development. The queen places the eggs in pre-prepared combs, in which the young larvae hang thanks to a special glue, and the older offspring simply burst the comb with their sides and therefore do not fall out of it.
Adult individuals of social wild wasps feed on sweet fruits, nectar of flowers, and fermented berries. But they feed their larvae exclusively with meat food - gruel from chewed insects.
By winter, the old queen dies, and the worker wasps die. Only young females hide in secluded places for wintering, which next year will give rise to new families.
Unlike forest social counterparts, solitary wasps are less scrupulous about choosing a place for rearing offspring - they arrange holes for their larvae literally everywhere.Some species even settle mainly along roadsides, where it is very convenient for them to make houses for their offspring in the embankment. The minks of these insects can also be located in flower beds, in vegetable gardens, flower beds, in wastelands and simply among the grass.
Adult solitary wasps do not survive the winter, and only pupae overwinter in underground shelters among the remains of eaten victims.
Why are wild wasps dangerous?
Almost all wild wasps are able to sting quite painfully. At the same time, the strength of its bite and the possible consequences for humans depend on the characteristics of the biology of the insect:
- for example, it would seem that large and terrible scolia sting relatively weakly and practically without serious consequences, since their venom is primarily intended to immobilize already inactive and harmless prey.
- But the poison of many species of hornets is so strong that it causes extensive swelling and very sharp pain. Sometimes an allergic reaction to such a bite can lead to anaphylactic shock and death. Tropical huge hornets are especially dangerous in this regard - several of their simultaneous bites can cause internal bleeding.
Review
“We had a story with hornets in the country. They settled right in the toilet, and when my husband and I decided to take them out in the summer upon arrival, they attacked Seryozha in a swarm. He received 8 bites, it was impossible to calmly look at him. It felt like he was swollen like a balloon, his eyes were not opening and his nose was not breathing. It’s good that the partnership has a first-aid post, where he was given an injection of an allergy remedy. That was probably the only thing that saved me. I also had to constantly give him painkillers, because because of the bites, he could not sleep at all. ”
Hope, Moscow
Among the wasps, there is one with one of the most painful stings in the world: the road wasp Pepsis elegans, whose main prey is tarantulas, is considered the second most painful insect in the world after the South American bullet ant.
Wild wasps in the tropics
In tropical regions, wasps are more numerous than in Russia and other countries of the temperate zone. Moreover, both solitary and social species are widely represented here.
The largest wasp in the world lives in the tropics of Thailand, India and Burma - Megascolia procer, reaching a length of 5.5 cm. In China, Japan and Primorye, there are several species of huge hornets with a body length of up to 5 cm and leading to a large number of deaths among local population.
It is important to remember that when traveling through tropical countries, you should be prepared to meet these insects and have an appropriate first aid kit.
Review:
“We were driving along the road near Da Nang in the afternoon on a moped. Suddenly I noticed a rapidly approaching spot and before I even had time to see what it was, something soft hit my forehead and flew over my head. Almost immediately, I felt a terrible pain in my neck, as if a red-hot nail had been applied to it. It hurt so much that I jerked my hand to the side of my neck, lost control and the moped flew into a ditch. Anya and I rolled along the road. Good thing she had a helmet.
I didn’t understand anything then and just wanted to get rid of the terrible pain in my neck, but there was nothing there. When my friends drove up for us, my neck was already swollen so that I could not turn my head and could hardly breathe. I hit my head hard on the asphalt when I fell, but I didn’t feel pain in my temple because of the bite. Friends said that it was a local hornet and immediately took Anya and me to the hospital.They injected me with some kind of medicine, and Anya got stitches on her torn elbow. The swelling from the bite went away only after two weeks.
Thomas, Vancouver
Interesting video: the owner of the site found a hornet's nest in the ground and burns it out with a blowtorch
The pottery wasp builds houses for its larvae
