26 Nebraskaland • July 2022
asps are amazing. No, seriously, they're startlingly
cool. To begin with, there are more than 100,000 wasp
species that have been cataloged by science and many
more that haven't. Among all those species, there is
incredible variation in size, shape, lifestyle and aggression
toward humans. Spoiler alert: Only a tiny percentage of
wasps pose any threat to us at all. Categorizing all wasps as
aggressive, winged canisters of pain is like categorizing all
Husker football fans as irrational optimists who always think
"this will be the year!" OK, maybe that's not the best analogy.
Most of us are so obsessed with the pointy parts of wasps that
we know very little else about them. As an example, did you
know that adult wasps feed only on sweet liquids like nectar? I'll
bet you didn't. That doesn't sound very evil, does it?
Next, let's address the big topic on everyone's mind. Yes, a
few wasp species determinedly defend their nests and will
sting you if you get too close. In addition, they don't have
barbed stingers like honey bees do, so they can sting you
repeatedly. They take their nest defense very seriously.
There are two great ways to avoid being stung. First, stay
away from the nests of paper wasps, hornets, yellowjackets
and any other social wasps (more about them later). Second,
only females have stingers, so a big proportion of wasps are
completely harmless. As long as you can tell male wasps from
females, you'll know which ones to avoid. To diff erentiate
between males and females, just count the number of
antennae segments. Females have 12, and males have 13.
Easy peasy.
Types of Wasps
Now that we've solved that problem, let's dive into the
crazy diversity of wasps and their fascinating lives. First,
wasps can generally be categorized as being either parasitoid
wasps or stinging wasps. Parasitoid wasps don't have nests.
Instead, females lay eggs directly on or in their prey. They
have a long ovipositor protruding from their rear end, through
which they can both inject venom and lay an egg. Wasps
inject their prey/host with venom fi rst to either temporarily
subdue it or completely paralyze it. Then they deposit an
Why You
Should Love
Wasps!
Story and photos by Chris Helzer
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