How Do Wasps Destroy Bee Hives?
WouterDuring the summer, wasp colonies can grow to 25,000 individuals. These colonies have a social structure that consists of mostly females. The colonies continue to grow until the first hard freeze.
When the colonies become weak, wasps will begin to attack them. In some cases, the colony will defend itself by mobbing the wasp attacker. This raises the body temperature of the wasp and it will die. However, in other cases, the wasps will not attack and will simply forage alone.
The best way to keep the bees from being destroyed is to maintain a healthy hive. When the colony is strong, it can fight off other bees that try to attack it. Wasps are generalist predators and will attack weak colonies.
Wasps scavenge food and kill insects, spiders and larvae. In addition, wasps clean up decaying animal materials. They use wood from trees to make nest combs. The nests vary in size and colour. They are built around food, insects, bees and human dwellings.
In the spring, a single female yellow jacket begins a new colony. The worker wasps die in the fall. The queen is then left to hibernate.
If the bees are healthy, they can fight off wasps and hornets. However, if the bees are weak, the wasps will attack and destroy the hive.
If you don’t want to have to kill the wasps yourself, you can hire a professional. These pest control services will spray insecticides into the nests. They know which baits are safe to use and can locate the nests.
