Do Wasps Do Anything Beneficial?
WouterUnlike bees, wasps are not particularly good at pollinating flowers. Besides, wasps can also be aggressive, so it’s best to treat them with respect.
There are two kinds of wasps: solitary and social. The solitary wasps hunt insects, while the social wasps control insects. Solitary wasps are generally very fussy about their prey.
Social wasps live in large colonies. A potential queen is called a gyne, while the workers are called workers or sisters. The males are the future of the colony, and they mate with males from other colonies. The workers also raise their sisters.
The sting of social wasps is composed of a compound called mastoparan. This compound is known to have cancer-cell killing properties. It is also useful in controlling whitefly in greenhouses.
There are roughly 33,000 species of stinging wasps in the world. These wereps are a vital part of the ecosystem. Some species of wasps pollinate flowers, while others control pest insects. In the UK, social wasps capture 14 million kilograms of insect prey each summer. They do this by capturing greenfly, spiders, and caterpillars.
Some wasps have a special interest in grapes. Grapes are rich in yeast, so some wasps feed on them, while others transfer the yeast onto the grapes. The yeast is passed on genetically, so new wasps can transfer the yeast onto the grapes the next season.
There are also parasitic wasps, which help farmers protect their crops from whitefly. They kill aphids by laying a parasitic larva inside the body of the aphid.
