BEES, HORNETS & WASPS

Bees, wasps and hornets are beneficial insects, but when they make their nests close to or within homes or other human and animal occupied buildings, there is the potential of a human or animal being stung.

They are beneficial because many assist us in the pollination of crops and the biological control of many other insect pests.  The fact that many bees, wasps and hornets can administer painful stings, either when defending their nests or when disturbed, makes many people very nervous of their presence.

We would always suggest that if the location of nests does not pose a threat, leave it alone;  for example, if it is located at the back of a field on a large property or in an area where no one will come into contact with it.  Wasps nests are not reused the following season and bumble bees die off at first frost.

Bald-faced Hornets (Dolichovespula maculata)

Bald-faced hornets have white markings on a black face.  They build a large football-sized paper nest with a single entrance at the base.  As with the nest of the yellow jacket, the combs are horizontal with a multi-layered cover surrounding and protecting them.  Usually a nest is suspended among the branches of a tree, but it may be built underground.  In this case, it is often suspended from a tree root or a stone.  These wasps can become aggressive if the nest is disturbed, but will tolerate human approach.  Bald-faced hornets are not true hornets, but due to their size, colouration and habits are commonly classified as such.

Polistes Wasps (Polistes spp.)

Polistes wasps are much more docile and build inverted umbrella-like nests under eaves and in old buildings.  The number of wasps living in the nest is small and they rarely sting unless molested.  These wasps feed primarily on rotten fruit, and are thus more of a pest in orchards or near fruit trees.  The nest itself is single layered with no covering, and suspended from a stalk.

Mud Dauber Wasps (Sceliphron caementarium)

Mud dauber wasps are solitary wasps with strong legs and slender metallic green or black bodies.  They are 25-30 mm in length and range throughout North America.  They construct mud nests which they attach to ceilings or walls.  Small insets, especially spiders, are captured and sealed in these mud tombs together with the egg the mud dauber has laid.  The larva thus has a food supply awaiting it on hatching.  The adults feed on nectar.  Their habitat are meadows, rock faces and settled areas where nests are located under rocks, overhanging roofs and other structures.

These wasps are seldom bothersome and seldom sting.  Digger wasps and potter wasps are related to the mud daubers.

Yellow Jackets (Vespula spp.)

Summer, hot weather, picnics, yellow jackets!
Yellow jackets belong to the Hymenoptera (skin wings) family named Vespidae, of which there are seven subfamilies in North America, containing many common wasp species like hornets and paper wasps.

Yellow jacket wasps are beneficial in that they prey on many pest insects which they bring back to their nests to feed to their young (larva).  They are house fly-sized wasps that have few hairs on their distinctive yellow and black bodies.  These wasps have become a nuisance because of its greatly increased population in urban areas.  The abundant number of open garbage bins and because so many people eat outdoors during the summer, provides the yellow jacket wasp with an abundant food source.

A yellow jacket wasp colony is begun by a single queen who has wintered in a sheltered place.  She seeks out a nest location in a protected site, typically underground or in a hollow log.  The paper-like nest is constructed of a mixture of her saliva and wood fibers.

Eggs are laid in the nest cells and the hatching larvae are fed by the queen.  By late spring, the first brood of worker wasps emerges to take over the function of expanding the nest size and feeding the larvae.  The size of the colony increases rapidly, reaching a peak in late summer of up to 5,000 workers.  Also at this time, the queen lays eggs that will not develop into worker wasps but into new queens and males.  These new queens are fed continually by the workers because they must have food reserves to mate and winter.  The queen of the old colony, together with the workers and newly emerged males, die after the first few frosts.  The nest is not reused but quickly decomposes.  As the colony grows in size during August, the scavenging behaviour of the worker wasps leads to the greater possibility of contact with humans.  Yellow jacket wasps require both protein and sugar in their diet.  Since the larvae secretes a sugary substance to "reward" the worker wasp for providing it with a meal, the worker wasp seeks foods containing protein for its own nutrition.  When the colony has matured by August, the wasps are more attracted to high sugar content food.

Leaf Cutter Bees

Leaf cutter bees are also pollinators.  Many resemble large metallic flies, but they differ in having a stinger and two pairs of wings (flies have only a single pair of wings).  Others are similar to honey bees in appearance.  Many species bore holes to make nests in rotten, or even sound, wood in trees and stumps.  The bottom of the nest is lined with pieces of leaves geometrically cut out by the bee, hence the name.  These bees are seldom a problem.

Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)

 (We do not exterminate honey bees, but do refer you to a beekeeper who may remove the wild colony, at their discretion.)
Honey bees have the most highly complex social behaviour of the bee family.  There are 3 castes;  queen, drone (male) and worker.  Individual colonies may have 20,000 to 50,000 bees.  In addition to feeding the larvae, the workers also amass reserve supplies of honey which can be utilized as food by all members of the colony during periods of adverse conditions.  They construct vertical wax combs (with some cells being used to house the immature stages and others as storage sites for honey) in sheltered places and seldom build nests in windy sites.  A swarm may form from an over-populated hive and, following a queen's chemical lure, fly around scouting for a location for a new nest.  These swarms are sometimes seen clustering on a branch while the "scout" bees seek out a suitable nest location which will often be in the hollows of trees.  These swarms should not be disturbed and, in the majority of cases, will move on in a few days.  Beekeepers, who may be interested in capturing the swarm, are listed in the Yellow Pages.  However, such wild colonies are often diseased and are therefore not usually accepted by beekeepers.  Your first step is to find a beekeeper and ask if they are interested.  In not, and the bees do not leave the area or are posing a hazard to people and/or animals, call North Country and we will come out to assess the situation.

If a nest becomes well established within the wall voids of a house, large amounts of wax and honey may be deposited within the wall.  As long as the bees are active the workers keep the air moving and the temperature remains below the melting point of the wax.  If the bees are killed this primitive form of air conditioning ceases to function.  If the weather is warm or the interior of the house is kept warm the wax within the walls may become soft enough that the honey begins to seep out of the storage cells.  If there is a sufficient amount of honey inside the walls, enough may be absorbed by plaster or similar porous wall material so that an unsightly and virtually permanent stain may appear on the inside wall.  Another problem inherent to such situations is that the presence of honey in the walls will serve as an attractant for foraging workers from other colonies.  When this occurs there may be a more or less continuous supply of bees around the house even though the original colony has been wiped out.  The initial concern is usually the danger of being stung by the workers, but in some cases, "the cure may be worse than the ailment".  Even if other bees are not attracted to the old nest, any number of insects including dermestid beetles may be.

Also be aware that bees that are assigned "sentry duty" may attack and in so doing, release a chemical messenger (pheromone) into the air that incites the other bees to attack also.  But generally the honey bee is rarely aggressive unless their nests are disturbed or a foraging bee is molested or stepped upon.  Unless the nest has been built in an unfavourable location the colony can survive throughout the winter;  the insect is not limited to cyclic re-establishment of colonies on a yearly basis as are the social wasps.

Bumble Bees

Bumble bees are social insects that can be quite large in some species.  They are black and yellow in colour and produce a distinct buzzing noise when in flight.  Like honey bees they have pollen baskets on their hind legs to carry pollen to the nest, which is usually in debris or just below ground level in a lawn.  In some areas these bees are more important than honey bees for pollinating crops.

Big, furry and very pretty, bumble bees are a sure sign that spring has sprung.  They are about 3/4 inch in length and sometimes even larger.  Like honey bees, they live in a colony where the adults care for the young (larvae) produced by a single queen.  Each nest is rather small with only a few hundred individuals.  Bumble bee nests are used only once and then abandoned.  The nests are usually in the ground in a deserted mouse nest or bird nest.  Occasionally they nest in cavities within the wall of a structure or sometimes in a dryer vent.

In the spring, the queen selects a nest site and starts the colony by lining an existing cavity with dry grass or moss.  She then goes about the business of preparing "bee bread."

Some interesting facts about bees, wasps and hornets and how you and your family can help reduce dangerous encounters with these insects:

• Bumble bees have very long tongues which makes them better able to pollinate certain plants better than the honey bee.

• Hornets and yellow jackets can be beneficial because they prey on many insects that we consider to be pests. They alternatively serve as food for bears, skunks, birds, and other insects.

• A honey bee stinger is barbed which prevents the bee from stinging repeatedly. As a result the only way a honey bee can escape is to leave the stinger and the venom sac in the victim at the expense of its own life.

• If stung by a honey bee scrape the stinger off the skin to prevent pinching the venom sac's contents into the wound.

• You'll always know when a polistes wasp is about to attack. When the nest is approached the sentry wasps will face the intruder and raise the front of their bodies. If you proceed any closer you are too close and an attack will occur if you continue.

• Wasps love the odour of fish or meat and will be extra persistent around your hands and lips at a picnic. Also beer, wine, and orange soda will attract them, either sweet carbs or alcohol are their favourite,

• Consider your wardrobe when outside in the summer as bees, wasps and hornets find white, beige, and green boring but love floral patterns.

• More wardrobe hints are don't wear a light coloured shirt with dark buttons as this instigates foraging behaviour by wasps who will try to enter your button (resembles a hole) seeking prey.

• Remember that bees, wasps, and hornets are quite shock resistant due to their hard bodies. A badly stunned or partially crushed wasp should not be picked up since the stinging reflex may still survive.