Related content<\/p>

Bee guide: how to identify, where to spot, and how to attract bees to your garden<\/a><\/li>
Guide to British butterflies: how to identify and the best places to spot<\/a><\/li>
Key insect pollinators of summer<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div>
$\"\"$
Heath Fritillary (Mellicta athalia). Bavaria, Germany, Europe.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
What is the most common wasp species found in the UK?<\/h2>
The most commonly found wasp in the UK is the yellowjacket (Vespula vulgaris<\/i>), the black and stripy species you often find yourself swatting away. The reputation of this and a few other species has tarred that of another 200,000. Indeed, wasps are second only to beetles<\/a> in terms of species numbers and there are thought to be at least 100,000 more waiting to be discovered. <\/p>
Social wasps (that includes our stripy friend) represent less than 1% of the total wasp species in the world. And most aren\u2019t yellow and stripy or fond of picnics. <\/p>
$\"Dusted$
Dusted with pollen, a common wasp searches for nectar\/ Credit: Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The vast majority of described wasps are tiny black insects that you\u2019d probably mistake for flies. In fact, the smallest insect in the world is a wasp: the \u2018fairyfly\u2019 is a mere 0.14mm long and only lives for a few days. Despite its size, it plays a vital role in agriculture, as it lays its eggs in the bodies of crop pests, essentially working as an alternative to chemical pesticides.<\/p>
How many wasp species are there in the UK?<\/h2>
In the UK there are approximately 9,000 species of wasp. This includes larger wasps species that sting<\/a> and microscopic parasitic wasps<\/a> that can’t be seen with the naked eye.<\/p>
Common wasp species found in Britain<\/h2>
Common\/German wasp (Vespula vulgaris\/germanica<\/em>)<\/h3> $\"Common$
Common\/German wasp\/Chris Shields<\/figcaption><\/figure>
These are the wasps most likely to upset your picnic. V. germanica<\/em> tends to be more bad tempered than V. vulgaris<\/em>. These two species of common wasp<\/a> are practically identical but you can tell them apart by their facial and thorax markings. Both species have a single queen who produces 6,000 to 10,000 workers. They make football-sized nests in the ground or in roofs and trees.<\/p>
European hornet (Vespa crabro<\/em>)<\/h3> $\"IH85---Hornet-male-(Vespa-crabro)\"$
European hornet have a single queen\/Illustration Chris Shields<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The European hornet is about twice the size of the other social wasps but despite its looks is unlikely to bother you at picnics. Hornet colonies have a single queen and around 100 workers. They like to nest in tree cavities or bird boxes.<\/p>
Yellow-legged Asian hornet (Vespa velutina<\/em>)<\/h3> $\"Yellow-legged$
Yellow-legged Asian hornet\/Chris Shields<\/figcaption><\/figure>
This Asian hornet<\/a> species is a voracious predator of honeybees<\/a> that was inadvertently introduced to southern Europe in 2004. It\u2019s now widespread in France, Spain, Italy and Belgium, but not the UK, which has an effective extermination protocol for dealing with these invaders. Suspected sightings can be reported using the Asian Hornet Watch app (available for Apple and Android devices) or by emailing details and photos to the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology<\/a> alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk.<\/p>
It’s not to be mistaken for the world’s biggest wasp, the Asian giant hornet<\/a><\/p>
Red wasp (Vespula rufa<\/em>)<\/h3>
$\"Red-wasp\"$
A red wasp queen can produce 300 workers\/Chris Shields<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Red wasps have a distinguishing red tinge on their abdomens. Their nests are smaller and always underground. A single queen will produce around 300 workers. The colony cycle of V. rufa<\/em> is shorter than V. vulgaris\/germanica<\/em>, ending in late August.<\/p>
Dolichovespula<\/em> species<\/h3>
$\"Dolchovespula$
Dolchovespula species\/Chris Shields<\/figcaption><\/figure>
There are three species of Dolichovespula<\/em> in the UK. The most common is Dolichovespula<\/em> media. You can tell them from Vespula<\/em> as they\u2019re bigger and have blacker abdomens and are only seen in early-mid summer. Their new queens leave the nest in early August and thereafter the colony soon winds down.<\/p>
How do wasps help wildlife?<\/h2>As predators, they\u2019re at the top of the food chain and without them food webs would break down. They help to keep other invertebrate populations, such as spiders<\/a>, woodlice<\/a>, and insects, in check. <\/p>
They\u2019re also generalists: wasps will feed on whatever\u2019s around. They eat the most abundant pests that we try to control with toxic chemicals \u2013 there\u2019d be many more aphids in my garden without wasps. We don\u2019t have good data on how much wasps eat, but a single colony is thought to remove somewhere between 0.16-23kg of prey per season. Using a modest estimate, that amounts to about 250,000 aphids from each colony.<\/p>
<\/div><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-do-you-know-if-a-wasp-is-male-or-female\">How do you know if a wasp is male or female?<\/h2><p class=\"p3\">Far from being a malicious pest looking to ruin your picnic, the female wasp is completely focused on collecting wood pulp to expand her mother\u2019s nest. It\u2019s a labour of genetic love \u2013 the harder she works, the more wasps her mother\u2019s nest will produce, and the more of her genes will be passed on to the next generation. Female wasps tend to be larger than male as they carry the eggs.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading p6\" id=\"h-how-do-wasps-reproduce\">How do wasps reproduce?<\/h2><p>Wasps have a fascinating social life. A yellowjacket colony is much like that of a honeybee, with a queen supported by a community of workers. It sounds harmonious but look closer and you\u2019ll see a veritable <i>Game of Thrones<\/i> in full swing. The parallels with human societies are uncanny: there are specialist work forces, rebellions, policing, leadership contests, undertakers, police, even free-loaders and anti-social thugs. You name it, social wasps have it.<\/p><p class=\"p2\">The lives of social wasps revolve around gene-sharing (or relatedness). Worker wasps are \u2018self-sacrificers\u2019, they have evolved to work rather than reproduce because their genes are passed on through the brood they help rear (their siblings). <\/p><p class=\"p3\">But this social contract is only a good deal if their mother is singly mated. Queen wasps only have one mating flight in their lives, but during that time some species mate with several males: they store the sperm in their abdomen and control its release to fertilise the eggs they lay throughout their lives.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-landscape_thumbnail\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2336\" height=\"3504\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2018\/10\/Common-wasps-on-nest-ca2c396.jpg\" alt=\"Common wasp nest\" class=\"wp-image-41801\" title=\"Common-wasps-on-nest\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The lives of social wasps revolve around gene-sharing (or relatedness). Worker wasps are \u2018self-sacrificers. \/Credit: Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure><p class=\"p3\">Multiple mating means the queen dilutes the relatedness of the workers in her brood and workers end up rearing a mix of half- and full-siblings, which can break the social contract of the colony. In these cases, workers can do better, individually, if they lay their own eggs. And this is when things get messy: sneaky egg laying by workers can cause a colony\u2019s cohesion to break down, creating internal battles among the workers. They may be bloodless battles, as no insect blood (haemolymph) is shed, but they\u2019re fought by ruthless means: workers that detect another worker\u2019s eggs will eat them before they hatch. <\/p><p class=\"p3\">But aren\u2019t we taught in schools that only queens lay eggs? In fact, workers in almost all Hymenoptera (bee, wasp and ant) colonies can lay eggs. Because of a genetic quirk of the Hymenoptera, females hatch from fertilised eggs and males from unfertilised eggs. Worker wasps have lost the ability to mate, but can still lay male (unfertilised) eggs.<\/p><p class=\"p3\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/how-to\/identify-wildlife\/wasp-nests-guide\">Find out how wasps make their nests and use our illustrated guide to identify different wasp and hornet nests. <\/a><\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading p6\" id=\"h-how-can-wasps-help-humans\">How can wasps help humans?<\/h2><p class=\"p2\">There are other reasons to admire wasps. For one thing, they may be indirectly responsible for the invention of paper. Around 2,000 years ago a Chinese eunuch called Cai Lun noticed a wasp building a paper nest in his garden. Inspired by what he saw, he started to mulch wood and with it made the first paper. If the story is true, then perhaps we have wasps to thank for much of our rich cultural history and development. <\/p><p class=\"p3\">Fast forward to today where exciting research is looking into the potential use of wasp venom as a cancer therapy. An active peptide found in the venom of tropical social wasps selectively destroys cancerous cells by causing their membranes to leak. Wasps may have the potential to save human lives.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-landscape_thumbnail\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3000\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2018\/10\/Wasps-around-jam-pot-c4683f6.jpg\" alt=\"Wasps around jam pot\" class=\"wp-image-41802\" title=\"Wasps-around-jam-pot\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A better appreciation of the ecological, economic, medical and cultural services that our stripy friends provide might help us see them in a different light. \/Credit: Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure><p class=\"p3\">A better appreciation of the ecological, economic, medical and cultural services that our stripy friends provide might help us see them in a different light. So next time your picnic is disturbed by black and yellow insects, take a moment to think about their extraordinary world and the contributions they make to our lives before you reach for the swatter. <\/p><div class=\"wp-block-columns highlight-box is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-layout-8 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-layout-11\"><div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-group highlight-box is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\"><p>More related content:<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/go-outdoors\/snackers-and-stingers-the-top-10-british-bugs-that-bite\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Guide to UK insects that bite or sting: how to identify and avoid being bitten<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/how-to\/outdoor-skills\/uk-sand-dune-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UK sand dune guide: best dunes to visit and wildlife to identify<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/go-outdoors\/garden-wildlife-pond-guide-how-to-identify\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Garden pond guide: how to look after your pond and wildlife to spot<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3000\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2009\/07\/Garden-pond-5742acb.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-40578\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The beautiful pond in Hyde Park, London. Ponds are even more vital in urban areas.(Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-long-do-wasps-live\">How long do wasps live?<\/h2><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-discover-the-lifecycle-of-social-wasps\">Discover the lifecycle of social wasps<\/h3><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading listicle__title heading-3\" id=\"h-the-queen-wasp-emerges-from-hibernation\">The queen wasp emerges from hibernation<\/h3><p>A single-mated queen emerges from winter hibernation in the early spring. Her workers build a nest in a cavity in the ground or a tree, and only after the nest is fully established will she build each cell and lay an egg in it.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading listicle__title heading-3\" id=\"h-her-offspring-emerge\">Her offspring emerge<\/h3><p>After about 30 days, her first offspring \u2013 the workers \u2013 emerge as adults. They\u2019re all female at this point. The workers takeover the foraging, brood care and nest building and maintenance duties; the queen becomes a stay-at-home egg-laying machine.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-landscape_thumbnail\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2402\" height=\"2372\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2018\/10\/Lifecycle-of-wasps-e902d0a.jpg\" alt=\"Lifecycle of wasps \/nature.plc\" class=\"wp-image-30065\" title=\"Lifecycle-of-wasps\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lifecycle of wasps \/nature.plc<\/figcaption><\/figure><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading listicle__title heading-3\" id=\"h-larvae-hatch\">Larvae hatch<\/h3><p>After a few days carnivorous larvae will hatch from the newest eggs. The adult workers bring insects back to the nest to feed to the hungry larvae, which offer a sugary reward to the workers, via a process called trophallaxis. The larvae grow over a couple of weeks before they spin their pupal cap and pupate.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading listicle__title heading-3\" id=\"h-the-colony-grows\">The colony grows<\/h3><p>Over the next couple of months, the colony will grow, possibly to include thousands of wasps, depending on the species. Once the colony is big enough, the queen will switch to laying a sexual brood: these are males and the sexual females capable of becoming next year\u2019s queens.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading listicle__title heading-3\" id=\"h-wasps-mature-and-leave-the-nest\">Wasps mature and leave the nest<\/h3><p>When the sexual brood emerges, they leave the nest to mate and then find somewhere to hibernate over the winter (lofts are a popular choice). After this point, the nest has served its purpose but the workers are still alive with no brood to feed \u2013 this is when they start to bother you.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading heading-1 template-article__title\" id=\"h-why-do-wasps-sting-in-autumn\">Why do wasps sting in autumn?<\/h2><p class=\"body-copy-large\">Wasps tend to be at their most irritating in October \u2013 but why? The answer actually lies in the unusual ecology and bizarre anatomy of social wasps. In the spring, queen wasps wake from hibernation and start to build their nest, laying eggs and raising their first brood of daughters. These worker wasps cannot produce fertilised eggs so spend their time helping their mother expand the nest and raise more young.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-landscape_thumbnail\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3000\" height=\"2292\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2018\/10\/Wasp-sting-8f2a511.jpg\" alt=\"Wasp stinging\" class=\"wp-image-41803\" title=\"Wasp-sting\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Wasps tend to sting more in autumn. \/Credit: Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure><p>One of their main jobs is searching for soft bodied invertebrates to feed the developing larvae. Bizarrely, adult wasps cannot digest the food they catch because their gut is so constricted by their thin \u201cwasp waists\u201d. Instead the workers chew up the prey and feed it to the larvae. In return the larvae produce a sugar rich spit that the workers can drink.<\/p><p class=\"p1\">Social wasps only really become a nuisance in late summer. At this time there are no larvae left to feed so instead of hunting for prey the workers turn their attention to sugar (nectar and your picnic). Wasps sting to defend themselves \u2013 this is an evolved strategy to combat vertebrate predators at the nest: swatting at them may elicit the same innate collective behaviour. Some wasps\u2019 stings trigger the release of an alarm pheromone that attracts more wasps. To minimise the nuisance, try to isolate the first wasp to appear under a glass but don\u2019t forget to release her at the end of your picnic.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-does-a-wasp-sting-look-like\">What does a wasp sting look like?<\/h2><p>A wasp sting is painful and will generally leave a red mark which can look inflamed and leave a welt. You might be able to see a small puncture mark at the sting site. To treat the sting, gently wash the wound with clean water and then apply a small amount of antiseptic or bite cream. Try to avoid scratching the bite and it should heal quickly. Some people can develop a skin reaction to a sting which can cause skin redness and swelling but should ease in a couple of days. A minority of people can experience anaphylactic shock which is serious and will require medical treatment.<\/p><p>The best advice is to try to avoid wasp stings by covering up and keeping enticing food and drink covered.<\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/go-outdoors\/snackers-and-stingers-the-top-10-british-bugs-that-bite\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Learn more about insects that bite or sting<\/a><\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-could-wasps-provide-an-alternative-to-meat\">Could wasps provide an alternative to meat?<\/h2><p>Wasp larvae are a sustainable alternative to meat. Over 2 billion people in 80% of the world\u2019s countries feast on insect protein every day. Wasps represent about 4% of the insect species consumed and are the most common edible insects on sale in rural China. In fact, a new cottage industry of wasp harvesting in \u2018Vesparies\u2019 is springing up in Japan.<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-columns highlight-box is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-layout-9 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-layout-12\"><div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-group highlight-box is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\"><p class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong>The author<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"MsoNormal\"> <\/p><p class=\"MsoNormal\">Dr Seirian Sumner is a behavioural ecologist at University College London. Her research focuses on understanding how and why animals and insects such as wasps live in societies.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"285\" height=\"325\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2019\/07\/Seirian-Sumner-11bfb3a.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-43106\"\/><\/figure><\/div><\/div> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>These stinging picnic pests don\u2019t deserve our enmity and fear \u2013 they are impressive architects that belong to highly developed and complex societies \u2013 our expert guide to wasps looks at the common species, their lifecycle and why wasps sting. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":37906,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"13"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/06\/british-wasp-guide-how-to-identify-common-species-lifecycle-and-why-wasps-sting-scaled.jpg",2560,1920,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/06\/british-wasp-guide-how-to-identify-common-species-lifecycle-and-why-wasps-sting-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/06\/british-wasp-guide-how-to-identify-common-species-lifecycle-and-why-wasps-sting-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/06\/british-wasp-guide-how-to-identify-common-species-lifecycle-and-why-wasps-sting-768x576.jpg",768,576,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/06\/british-wasp-guide-how-to-identify-common-species-lifecycle-and-why-wasps-sting-1024x768.jpg",800,600,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/06\/british-wasp-guide-how-to-identify-common-species-lifecycle-and-why-wasps-sting-1536x1152.jpg",1536,1152,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/06\/british-wasp-guide-how-to-identify-common-species-lifecycle-and-why-wasps-sting-2048x1536.jpg",2048,1536,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"These stinging picnic pests don\u2019t deserve our enmity and fear \u2013 they are impressive architects that belong to highly developed and complex societies \u2013 our expert guide to wasps looks at the common species, their lifecycle and why wasps sting.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/37905"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}