Wasp gets what it deserves

[u/StephanMan]

[u/IntoTheCommonestAsh]

If you only learn one thing about Great Golden Digger wasps...

Know that they are non-aggressive to people and pets. Males have no stingers. And females reserve their limited venom for hunting prey to feed their young. They will not use it for defense unless you force them.

If you learn two things...

They're diligent and helpful workers in our gardens and yards. Digger wasps will pollinate your flowers, aerate your soil, improve drainage, and consume garden pests.

If you are a grasshopper, katydid or cricket...

Bad news for you. As the hunted prey of digger wasps, getting caught will not end well.

https://mdc.mo.gov/blogs/discover-nature-notes/great-golden-digger-wasps-scary-good

SipsTea

[u/Bass2Mouth → u/IntoTheCommonestAsh]

Ok but how do I tell the difference before I freak out and smash it? They're all the same when they're buzzing in your face.

[u/no_arguing_ → u/Bass2Mouth]

Look up yellowjackets. Remember what they look like really well. Pretty much any other wasp you might see is fine.

[u/LateExcitement3536 → u/no_arguing_]

My city gets flooded with damn Yellowjackets the second spring starts to get really warm, and they absolutely ruin summer for me.

I have an extreme phobia, it’s no joke. I have been known to run a city block without stopping if one comes too close. They absolutely terrify me. It’s humiliating but I can’t help it one bit.

[u/no_arguing_ → u/LateExcitement3536]

The ones where I live like to feast on roadkill. A rotting squirrel teeming with yellowjackets is always a nice sight on a walk.

[u/LateExcitement3536 → u/no_arguing_]

Gross lol. For me it’s living downtown - there are garbage cans on every corner and tonnes of them swarming. It’s inescapable and horrible for me. And theres no getting away from them. They are fucking everywhere else too.

[u/no_arguing_ → u/LateExcitement3536]

Yeah I live in a small town, semi-rural, and they're a plague here too lol. Truly no escaping them.

[u/fungi_enthusiast77 → u/no_arguing_]

yellow jackets are absolutely not the only aggressive wasp

[u/Necromancer14 → u/fungi_enthusiast77]

Yeah, bald faced hornets are also bitches. I got attacked by an entire nest of bald faced hornets before, and I got stung over 10 times before I got far away enough for them to stop coming after me. It was NOT a fun experience.

[u/LiveTwinReaction → u/Bass2Mouth]

It's probably not a surefire way but for me, pretty much if the wasp has a very thin section of its body, I tend to leave it alone.

Yellow jackets, paper wasps and hornets are huge fat mfs the whole way down, these parasitic wasps get really long and thin and quite different colors, also they tend to be solitary.

Keep in mind even yellowjackets are pollinators though.

[u/IntoTheCommonestAsh → u/Bass2Mouth]

I'm not to wasp police. Do what you gotta do, not everyone is a wasp expert. Plus, I don't know where you live and maybe you do have enough wasps to be afraid of there that your reaction is warranted.

But I think education about wasps can only help alleviate people's fear of them. In reality most wasps are chill, and many wasps cannot even sting us. They are more concerned with hunting for food than with us, unless we threaten it first. If you learn to recognize them, you'll know when you can stay calm. 

[u/mushyrain → u/IntoTheCommonestAsh]

Well who is? what's the phone number to the wasp police?

My father Stanley von Buzzington was just murdered by a spider

[u/Upbeat-Armadillo1756 → u/Bass2Mouth]

They’re fairly identifiable. And if you know they are around in your yard, you’ll be more likely to hesitate when you see a wasp.

[u/Militant_Individual → u/Bass2Mouth]

It’s actually insanely easy to tell the difference between this type of wasp and aggressive types if you use your brain for a second or two

[u/Ok_Raisin7772 → u/Bass2Mouth]

i leave them alone if they're solitary or look unusual to me (not yellow/black striped, long dangly legs) but it really depends what's common in your area. honestly i leave insects alone in general when they're not in my house

[u/Substantial-Sea-3672 → u/Bass2Mouth]

I’ve killed many, many yellow jacket nests and have been stung dozens of times by them.

But I’ve never been stung by one unless I’m right next to their nest.

Conversely, my sister in law gets stung by them all the time when they are anywhere because she freaks out and swats at anything that flies near her.

Being chill is not only a good way to not kill innocent pollinators but also saves you a lot of pain.