But are they really there to avenge their fallen comrade? Not exactly; it's more about self-defense, as you'll see in the new video above from the American Chemical Society. Wasps and bees are intensely social animals, which means communication is a top priority.
Although there is no science backing the concept that wasps actually seek revenge, it has been proven that they will rally together to protect their territory and colony.
Wasps will return to a place if they can find the things they are attracted to. These reasons include open food and water, pet or bird food, smells of sweet decaying food sources, individual plants, and pheromones (a chemical through which wasps can communicate with one another).
Killing a wasp also releases pheromones that will attract other wasps nearby. Instead, calmly trap the wasp under a glass, so it can't return to the nest and tell the others where to find your food.
If you destroy a small wasp nest (golf ball size with just the queen present) and do not kill the queen, she will typically move to a different location and start a new nest. Some worker wasps will be present as nests become older and more established.
The best method of wasp control is to locate the nest, or nests, in the surrounding area and eradicate them using an insecticide registered for the purpose. It is recommended that treatment of the nest occurs early in the morning or at night when wasps are less active.
Do wasps return to the same nest? Wasps never reuse an old nest from previous years so a large nest in the early spring and summer months is unlikely to be active. However, wasps may return to the same area and build a new nest if it's a suitable location.
Golden paper wasps have demanding social lives. To keep track of who's who in a complex pecking order, they have to recognize and remember many individual faces. Now, an experiment suggests the brains of these wasps process faces all at once—similar to how human facial recognition works.
Killing a wasp doesn't help. A dying wasp emits a chemical that tells other wasps to be on the look-out. So, the more you swat, the more bellicose the rest become.
If a wasp lands on you, don't flap at it or try to brush it off – it will sting you. Just stay still and let it fly off in its own time. A wasp trapped in clothing is more difficult to deal with because any slight movement can press garments against it.
So, how long do wasps live? The lifecycle of a wasp depends on the species, but in general a worker wasps life can last from 12-22 days, while a queen can live up to a year. There are many different types of wasps in North America, paper wasps and yellowjackets being the two most common.
There are several essential oils you can use to safely and effectively repel wasps. Peppermint oil on its own has been shown to act as a natural repellent for wasps and bees, or you can use a combination of clove, geranium, and lemongrass essential oils as a natural pest control method.
Scientists have discovered how to tell whether a wasp is angry (before it stings you, that is). You need to look it in the face. Wasps advertise aggressiveness by the markings on their heads. The more black spots, the more ferocious it is.
They normally get angry when they feel threatened. It could be your constant waving of arms when you try to get rid of them. These actions make them feel threatened hence making them angry. Once wasps get angry, their defence mechanism releases pheromones that signal other wasps in the colony.
If you take only one thing from this article let it be this: wasps sting you because they feel threatened. If you get a little too close to a wasp nest, or even worse, if you accidentally step on and destroy part of a nest, expect some painful stings to be coming your way.
Always remain still if a wasp approaches you. If you have to run away, do so in a straight line, without flailing your arms. Protect your head and face, as these areas are mostly likely to be targeted by the wasps.
Summary. Unlike a bee, which can only sting once, the European wasp can sting repeatedly. Around one in 10 people who are stung two or more times become allergic, which means they will experience severe reactions to any subsequent stings.
Wasp Controls
Don't swat at the insects even if they land on you. While it can be easy to panic, maintain your composure and simply brush them off. Don't smash a wasp. Squishing it can send a chemical pheromone that signals danger to the other members of the nest, encouraging them to become aggressive.
The answer is simple: they feel threatened and are protecting their nests. Wasps aren't particularly cruel creatures who want to chase or sting you. However, if they feel that they are in danger, they will do anything to protect themselves.
Just how smart are wasps? According to a study done last year at the University of Michigan they are smarter than we thought. It turns out they use a form of logical reasoning. For thousands of years we thought only humans were capable of such thinking.
But new evidence we published in Frontiers in Psychology shows that insects such as the honeybee (Apis mellifera) and the European wasp (Vespula vulgaris) use visual processing mechanisms that are similar to humans', which enables reliable face recognition. This is despite the tiny size of the insects' brains.
Wasps will send messages through pheromones or, in some instances, mark their territory with them. Wasp nests are easy for wasps to come back to repeatedly because they are filled with and surrounded by these pheromones. Even after removing the nest, those pheromones can linger and stick around where the nest was.
She has bright yellow and black stripes, with a triangle-shaped head, a distinctive 'waist' and a sharp pointy sting. Emerging from hibernation during the spring, the queen chooses a suitable area to build her nest, such as a hollow tree or in the cavity of a building.
Wasps have a strong sense of smell and dislike certain plants like peppermint, spearmint, basil, eucalyptus, cloves, geranium, thyme, citronella, bay leaves, and lemongrass. They are also repelled by vinegar, cinnamon, coffee grounds, and sliced cucumber.