HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEM?

I believe that many beekeepers and nature lovers have some kind of mixed emotions regarding wasps. Some hate them, some just tolerate them but I don’t think they are favorite among people. The study about their significant role in biodiversity is with no doubt the reason why we shall consider them worth of deeper research and further wildlife education.

When I was a child, the wasps have been killed with no mercy. It was like some kind of plague. I had a luck that my family didn’t teach me to hate them and eliminate them but rather to respect their presence and not to provoke them. However, they have been the part of the daily, summer life. I can’t recall the memory that I have been ever stung by wasp but I was regularly stung by bees. I used to say that I hate bees and love wasps but I think, I was pure exception. Later on, through the years of wildlife encounters and ongoing work, I found them both very interesting and useful. At the moment when I started with natural beekeeping and pollinators protection, I opened the door of wonderland where each of those species have special place and meaning. Without any of them, the world would face up many problems.

Then, I heard that some people hate wasps because they kill bees and we all know that bees mean life. One is a fact, without bees, there is no future for humans, the future we all need and hope for. But, if wasps are really natural killers of bees, that statement has to be checked and demystified, if necessary. Only then, we can assure we remain on scientific neutral ground.

The wasps and honeybees share the same environment but they have completely different job. While honeybees are busy with pollination and honey production, wasps are patrolling like pest controllers and also as secondary pollinators. The adults wasps feed on nectar but their larvae needs proteins which sometimes comes from bee meat . That’s the point of meeting and also the hunting season. The wasps hunt weak bees in the late summer when there is lack of offer in nature. This is very relevant moment for each beekeeper since it is showing the weak bee colony. The strong bee hive has no problem to chase away wasp intruders but the weak one will loose the battle.

Their relationship is predator – prey relationship strategy . So we can focus on that love and hate feeling between Apis mellifera and Vespula germanica. The honeybees recognize their enemies but they are not bothered with them. In science this is called the sympatric species which means that two similar species live in the same environment and overlap in their distribution without interbreeding. The wasps are seeing bees as the prey and bees are consider wasps as predators or enemies. Is that really so in the eyes of nature or could be somehow different taken ?

For years , the honey bees have developed the strategy against wasp attacks. They wasps love to hunt adult and weak bees on the ground. This means the wasps will fly and try to attack the bees that are alone on the ground. The wasps know that there is no chance of success if the friends from beehive come to help. The only possibility is to hunt fast, focused and to move with prey.

Since I am into observing beekeeping, I checked myself the settings around the hive. In the middle of July , when the first wasps are out of their nest, I finally could enjoy time in garden without being stung by different flies and ticks. Why? The working wasps are hunting actively to support their nests . This is perfect for us who love to be outside. The one predator is controlling all. If you have hornets around, you can be sure that hornets will control the wasps actions . The perfect food chain.

The problem is starting in late August or early September. Nature is slowing down but you have adult wasps who need food and you have your beehives that must protect its food, bees and future. I tried myself to intervene and to provide different food to the wasps and hornets so I can move their interest from bees into my offer. Usually it helps but nature tasks are still not forgotten. The wasps are almost camping around bee hives, waiting and calculating the chances. Sometimes, they try to get into hive and to find a bit of honey but that is like a suicide or just a luck, if bees are busy and not interested in one noisy wasp. The most of the time, they simple wait and collect. What they wait and what they collect ? The bees are doing the clean up every day in the hive which means a lot of dead bees or larvae will be removed and extracted outside. This is something which will be collected and taken by wasps since they are scavengers . If I see some dead bees around hive, after some hours , won’t be any trace of it. The wasps are ecosystem cleaning sharks .

I observed their behavior around honeybees. You can’t say they are the best buddies but also not the worst enemies . The wasps are perfect opportunistic creatures. They wait and pick up the award. They have patience . That’s their job , the one that is signed in their DNA.

The most recent example is me trying to stop nature from being nature. The own ignorance I have to deal with but it is impacted by my compassion. I know I shall not interrupt natural system but I can’t see that some creature is suffering. So , I am saving weak bees from wasps but I also save weak wasps from hornets . The human mind that is again in the middle point of complicated but still basic biological and ecological relations.

I was impressed that no wasps attacked me , not even for fun. It makes me angry that so many people don’t understand those beautiful meat bees or yellow bees . They are wonderful creatures but lucrative. You can’t stop them doing the job they are assigned to do but you can protect your bees and wild bees by empowering the bee hives and habitat that is enough food for all.

They are all perfect life forms and shall be understood and let simple be. The nature has no good or evil just biological formula of survival.