Class: Insects
Size: 0.9 to 1.5cm
Weight: Variable
Age: Max. 1 year
Appearance: Yellow-black striped
Feeding type: Larvae are insectivores (insectivorous), adult wasps are plant sap suckers
Food: Nectar
Distribution: Worldwide
Original location: Europe, Asia, North America
Sleep-wake rhythm: Diurnal
Habitat: Forests, meadows
Natural enemies: Hornet, dragonfly, cuckoo wasp, honey buzzard
Sexual maturity: Only in drones and queens
Mating season: August to October
Social behaviour: State-building insect
Threatened with extinction: No

• True wasps (Vespinae) are a family within the wrinkled wasps (Vespidae) with a total of 61 species. German wasps, common wasps and HORNETS are among the 11 species native to Central Europe.
• The ASIAN GIANT HORNET (Vespa mandarinia) is found in East Asia and Southeast Asia.
• Wasps are attracted to the smell of flowery perfumes, fruity body care products or sweat, as well as brightly patterned clothing. They can also “smell” fear, which can make them aggressive.
• Unlike bees, wasps can sting several times.
• A colony consists of 2’000 to 10’000 wasps.
• Adult wasps seek nectar and plant juices as food. In contrast, larvae are fed on other insects.
• A wasp colony can only survive for one year. Drones and workers die after the first drop in temperature in November. Only the fertilised queen seeks a hiding place and spends the cold season in rigidity.
• Wasps protect their nests from possible intruders. However, due to their similarity, the cuckoo wasp is not considered an enemy. In the nest, it kills the queen and lays its eggs in the combs, which are then raised by the wasp workers.
• Wasps build ground nests or hanging nests. Because they cannot hibernate and therefore do not need stores, the honeycombs of their nests are not made of wax but of wood (paper nest). The wasp secretes saliva onto the wood to make it malleable.
• The queen wasp influences what will hatch from her eggs. Unfertilised eggs become drones (male) and fertilised eggs become workers.
• Some insects imitate the colour patterns (mimicry) of wasps in order to be mistaken for wasps by potential predators. However, they are completely harmless themselves (e.g. hoverflies).
• Wasps are useful insects: Like bees and bumblebees, they pollinate flowers and are therefore important for a good harvest. They also eat many other insects and thus help humans to control pests in the garden.