Every year as the weather increases in temperature and we begin to relax into the comfortable rhythm of summer, we are joined by our favourite pests—the wasp. There are a few wasp species that commonly join us on our picnics. One in particular is the yellow jacket wasp.
How to Distinguish Between Wasps and Honeybees
These flying insects with their bright yellow bodies and black stripes are often mistaken for the honeybee. Although there are a few key differences. Wasps have long slender wings while honeybees’ are more round, the wasp colouring is typically brighter than the honeybee which is usually more orange than yellow, and the wasp creates small nests typically under tables or in your shed while the honeybee has a large colony and typically finds refuge in hollow trees. While you may not be interested in getting too close to a stinging insect in order to evaluate their wing shape - there is a major behavioral/physiological difference that will help you identify a wasp quite quickly. Unlike our fellow honeybees, wasps are carnivorous. If you find a flying insect eating off yours dinner plate, you are more most likely in the presence of a wasp.
Wasps Can Both Help and Hinder Honeybees
Wasps may seem like pests to us but they do play an important predatory role - they can help reduce the pest populations that take over our beautiful vegetable gardens or farm crops. Wasps consume all types of insects such as caterpillars, beetle larvae, flies, spiders and yes, honeybees. In addition to being bio control, wasps actually play a small role in pollination!
How to Protect your Honeybee Hive from Wasps
As a beekeeper, if we see increased wasp activity in our gardens, it is time to check the front entrance of our hives. Yellow jacket attacks can completely destroy our colonies over a short period of time. If we see wasps at our front entrances, it is time to put on our entrance reducers. By reducing the front of our colonies, we give the honeybees a chance to defend the hive. While we move into warmer weather (hopefully) and you have reduced the front entrance due to wasp activity, you may want to keep in mind how the bees will ventilate their colonies. If you have a screened bottom board, I would suggest removing the board. The screen will increase air flow but prevent wasps from entering the hive. If you are using a regular bottom board and wasp activity is exceptionally high, consider relocating the colony altogether. This may be a last resort, but relocating your colony could give them the advantage they need to survive.