Wasps
Adult worker wasps have the characteristic patterning on the abdomen, a black head and thorax. They are between 15-20mm long. The fore and hind wings are held together by a row of minute hooks giving the appearance of only one wing per side of the wasp. The wings are heavily veined.
Wasps are colonial insects living in social groups. They usually produce grey aerial nests, which have a regular laminar construction. They may be suspended from trees, nestboxes, beehives, rafters and dormer windows. If nests are formed underground, the envelope is always visible.
The wasps can cause alarm when present in large numbers. If the nest is in a place where the individuals from it interfere with humans, they can inflict painful and sometimes dangerous stings.
The main thing that worries people about wasps is their sting....
A wasp uses it's sting for killing prey, but it can also use it very effectively for defending itself. The sting has associated glands which produce a venom. In very extreme cases people suffer anaphylactic shock which can prove fatal. A sting in the mouth or on the neck can be serious, as the mucus epithelium may become very swollen, making it difficult for the victim to breathe. If the victim becomes pale and feels unwell with giddiness and nausea it is advisable to seek medical advice immediately.
Anaphylactic
Shock is an antibody-antigen reaction in the body which may produce a state of
profound collapse. This is characterised by increasing difficulty in breathing
and failure of the circulation brought about by general dilation of the small
blood vessels and the escape of plasma (the clear liquid which carries the blood
cells) into the tissue spaces.
As with the ants,
the colonies are divided into queens, males, and workers, a bit like us
really... anyway, the queens and males are only concerned with reproduction with
the workers doing everything else. The first cell of the colony is built by the
queen (who usually emerges from her winter quarters in mid-April) as there
aren't any others, inside this nest the queen constructs between 10 - 20
hexagonal cells where she lays an egg in each. When these hatch the queen is
kept busy for the first month feeding the larva. When the larva pupate and
hatch (about the end of May) they become the workers after which the queen can
concentrate on laying more eggs as the workers take over the running of the
nest. In late summer, round about September, a fully mature nest can have up to
25,000 individuals in it ( Usually about 4-6000 )....not something you would
want to poke with a stick.
Advanced Rodent Control.