How I wish I could claim credit for the phrase Vespid-19. But, alas, I cannot. It was suggested to me by Nancy Partlow of OlyPollinators and it perfectly describes the current situation. An exotic vespid wasp, Vespa mandarinia, was first discovered in the Pacific Northwest in late 2019 and has since spread further and faster […] Read more
Whoever said a picture is worth a thousand words could have been thinking of this one. You can see the glee in the wasp’s eyes as she makes a beeline for the all-you-can eat cafeteria. Michael Skeels, a regular reader and frequent contributor to this site, lives in Montana and owns the hive on the […] Read more
Wasps can be a problem for beekeepers in the autumn of the year. In fact, we usually don’t think about wasps at all until they begin casing our hives, looking for fresh meat. The biggest threat comes from eusocial species—those that are “truly social,” like yellowjackets. In all but the warmest regions of North America, […] Read more
This enchanting creature, photographed by Daniel Pepper in Seattle, is a large and gentle solitary wasp, Sphex ichneumoneus. Commonly known as the great golden digger wasp, it is distributed throughout North America. One of its most striking features is the dual-colored abdomen—black and orange—and the bright orange legs. These wasps are also big. The males […] Read more
Think again. The elegant and complex nests shown below were built this summer in two of my three swarm traps. I’ve been using the same three flowerpot-shaped traps for perhaps ten years, hanging them each year from the same three trees. In early spring, we go trudging up the hill with a ladder and the […] Read more
Last winter was mild here in western Washington, so I predicted a surge in yellowjackets and bald-faced hornets this summer. Sure enough, they are everywhere and I’m bracing for battle. Come autumn, when the wasps are looking for a treat, the honey bee colonies will be prime targets. Like bumble bee queens, mated yellowjacket and […] Read more
Speaking of wasps, I just received this photo from Nan at Shady Grove Farm in Kentucky. The white things you see attached to a tomato hornworm are the pupae of a braconid wasp. Using her ovipositor, the female braconid lays her eggs inside the body of the caterpillar. Once the eggs hatch, the larvae eat […] Read more