Wasps are generally thought of as pests, but in fact they are great garden helpers. Here’s the Royal Entomological Society’s guide to wasps in the garden

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Published: Thursday, 17 August 2023 at 08:45 AM


During the summer months it can seem wasps’ main role is to disrupt family picnics but these important, incredibly well-adapted, and largely harmless to humans, predators are an incredible asset to gardens. Prof. Seirian Sumner FRES, a British entomologist and behavioural ecologist at University College London, an expert in social wasps and a Trustee of the Royal Entomological Society and Fran Sconce, entomologist and Royal Entomological Society Outreach Officer joins us to help change gardeners’ minds.

Queen common wasp on grape hyacinth – © David Maitland

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There are over 100,000 species of wasps currently described in the world, and in the UK alone there are 7,000 species. Social wasps – yellowjackets and hornets, which are the ones that most people recognise as wasps – account for only around 1,200 of total known species – and for only 9 in the UK. Most people don’t like wasps because they sting, however it’s worth remembering that bees sting too, and yet gardeners love bees because of their pollination services and a long-held view that bees are ‘useful’. Yet wasps not only provide similar pollination services, but they are also a natural form of pest-control and are very efficient decomposers making them extremely ‘useful’ garden companions.