The Nature Photography Thread

[Sputnik]

Wasps??? Are you crazy? I'm allergic to the flaming things. Sorry my animal love stops somewhere.

[stonyloam]

Wasps??? Are you crazy? I'm allergic to the flaming things. Sorry my animal love stops somewhere.

Well that theory has been put forth from time to time. These guys (gals actually) are very non aggressive and almost never sting people. In fact I spent part of yesterday afternoon killing several hundred (several thousand to go) ground nesting yellow jackets next to the pool. It’s kinda like snakes, there are %$#@%$%$@%$ nasty ones that can do you great harm, and there are the nice ones (like garters). The trick is knowing which is which.

[Lulu Bennett]

i really cant stand wasps. we must have had a nest in the loft when we were doing it over for me to move into and i got stung loads of times and since then i cant go near them. i panic.

[Stefan-A]

I like wasps better than any of their relatives; bees and ants.

[Elliot]

i really cant stand wasps. we must have had a nest in the loft when we were doing it over for me to move into and i got stung loads of times and since then i cant go near them. i panic.

Well apparentley some yellow jackets built a nest on our back door, so of course when I opened the door to go outside I got stung. Of course, they faired far worse than I did. (sprayed them with wasp killer and lit them up LOL)

[stonyloam]

OK, here is a rule of thumb. Social wasps and bees (yellow jackets, hornets, paper wasps and honeybees bumblebees ect.) that have an established nest with a queen, and workers caring for their young will defend the nest quite vigorously (sting the heck out of you) and if they are around your house I say kill em all (“light em up” lol) . Solitary (a lone female) wasps and bees only lay an egg on some food that they have provided (paralyzed spider, caterpillar pollen ect.) seal it up and abandon the nest. Mud daubers are a good example. They do not defend the nest at all and so are very non aggressive, and will not attack people. Kinda like snakes and spiders you gotta know which ones to be cautious around.

[Stefan-A]

Great Stefan! Mine is just the end off of a 2" X 4" (not pressure treated) about 4 inches long. Drill a bunch of holes from about 2mm up to about 8mm, as deep as you can. Don't worry too much about the size, the wasps (or bees) will pick out the size they like (mine like the ones that are about 5mm). I just fastened a loop of wire to the back and hung it on a little nail just outside the door that goes to my deck. good luck!!

Didn't have any 2x4s, but I did have a branch from a birch, about 3-4" in diameter. Holes from 3.8mm upwards to 8mm.

[stonyloam]

Looks good! good Luck. Looking forward to some good photos.

[Snaky]

Another very interesting story, looking forward to updates

[reptileparadise]

aaaaa....wasps....they are quite usefull, but I still dont like m...And they can deliver a deadly hug!