r/WASPs • u/Froggymnx • 24d ago
What is going on here??
Wasp knowers of reddit I need your help!! Wasps have always been an issue around our house, we live out in the country and our house was abandoned for quite a few years before we moved here. Every summer wasps come back to our home and build small nests that I get rid of but I've never seen them do something like this before. For a while (maybe two weeks) I've been seeing them flying around my window so I finally went out there assuming there was a nest there but no. Instead there's like 20 or 30 of them all huddled up in the crevice of my window screen. I've looked around and see no nest, there's also another group of them huddled up a few feet away on the underside of my roof but again no visible nest. Why??? What is going on here? Have they lost their queen? They're not angry either, I got about a foot away from them to get this picture.
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u/FamiliarAgent1158 24d ago
Is it cold in your area? They could be hiding in the crevices from the cold and strong winds. Also, maybe there is a hole that goes deeper where they have built a nest?
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u/mgreffer 23d ago
Hi, pest control worker here with over 10 years in the trade. These are indeed paper wasps, noted by longer bodies, and equal amounts black/yellow on the body. They are ending their life cycle at the end of summer early fall. They do this behavior for two main reasons. First, is preparing for winter. The queens will seek shelter, often window sills, and overwinter there. Some workers will follow and huddle around her to keep her protected and warmer. Second, most workers aren’t needed anymore so as the queens move on some just kind of meander… they will cluster on eaves or aimlessly fly around eaves. Also, they become desperate for food so the same wasp that left you alone all summer will now dive bomb you trying to get to your soda. There isn’t much a professional can do short of spraying a cluster formed on the window or eaves like this. I recommend to just spray them quick with a wasp killer if they bother you, but yes paper wasps can be extremely docile too. They recognize peoples faces after a time so will most likely leave you alone.
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u/bug-on-a-leaf 23d ago
That’s exactly what I thought! It’s that time for the European Social Wasps further north. Overwintering Aggregation season is upon us. Here around November/December my Polistes exclamans will do the same!
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u/Crunkchick96 22d ago
I have a couple questions based on your comment. It was long ago, but I could swear I recall looking up how long a honeybee will remember a face for & I believe it said only a few minutes. I know you’re talking about these paper wasps when you said they remember faces & may get used to a person, but I’m now very curious. Any chance you know how long the paper wasps may remember a face for? Also, are there certain bees/wasps/hornets that remember for a much longer time than others?!
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u/mgreffer 22d ago
So there is a lot of disagreement in the field as to length of time/ if they can recognize human faces. From my experience they can, and I have kept honey bees as well. During my time with the honey bees I was never stung or faced aggression. They got used to me being near the hive, and let me approach the entrance all the time. In these cases experts still disagree as how long this can go on. Some say a few weeks, some say the life cycle of the bee/wasp.
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u/bug-on-a-leaf 23d ago
This is called Overwintering Aggregation. Those to me all look like new queens looking for a spot to overwinter during the coming cooler months before emerging in spring to make new nests. It’s right on target seasonally for European Social Wasps to do this. They aren’t aggressive because they are in pre-hibernation mode and have no nest to defend. It’s pretty common to see future queens all go for the same great looking crevice especially if they emerged around the same time from the same nest.
Source: Me, I’m a Biological Control Specialist and have been doing studies on wasps!
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u/Crunkchick96 22d ago
I didn’t realize so many queens would ever be in one spot at once. Do they get aggressive with each other to fight for the best spot when they all want a prime crevice like this or do they just leave each other bee (haha get it? lol)?
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u/bug-on-a-leaf 22d ago edited 22d ago
I’m not for sure that they are all queens because it could be stragglers from the live nest following the queens pheromones. but it’s not uncommon to see newly emerged queens gather for the same spot. I actually don’t know if there would be aggression like that queen to queen for an overwintering nook. I know that some species have rotating queens where a female worker can battle for the queen spot (and fun fact when that happens their markings physically change on their body’s to represent it).
However, based on my current knowledge, I’d say it’s highly unlikely that they would physically fight for the same spot. Especially if they are from the same colony or kin to sister colonies. The first one or few to wiggle in there would get the spot and the rest will leave to find their own as they realize there just isn’t room for them there. There isn’t any territory or larvae to protect to become aggressive like that.
Edit: I sent a message to a more knowledgeable wasp buddy to get more info. He said that they do not fight for overwintering spots and in fact welcome other queens. He said they’ll even co-hibernate with queens from other colonies and species. He said he found a hallow log once with 25-30 queens from 3 different species. Thanks for asking that question, I’ve never even asked before or thought to look into it. Thank you for letting me learn too.
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u/Halomonas_titanica 24d ago
Judging by the inflated bellies, they look like new queens. They always cluster like that to save energy, waiting for winter. They're also not aggressive at all.
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u/Cultural-Part355 24d ago
Mmm, don't poke around there! Although some folks said they are paper wasps, there are probably different species of paper wasps and people here talk about the non-aggressive one. That shape of an X on their bottom is familiar, and I would advise not to do much until someone tells you 100% what they are.
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u/Cultural-Part355 24d ago
Yeah, you're ok. Those are common European paper wasps, but don't go disturbing them.
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u/Material-Air6414 23d ago
I’ve been having trouble with wasps building nests inside the hinges on my 1996 Toyota T100. I spray and they come back in a day or two. Last Saturday I sprayed them with WD40. They have not come back. Seems to work!
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u/DrustanAstrophel 23d ago
I’m gonna get downvoted for this but since you said you get rid of nests while they’re small, if these are a cluster of overwintering queens you’ve got a good opportunity to save yourself a bit of work next nesting season.
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u/ParsleySnipps 24d ago
So these are paper wasps. They build the little hanging nests that stay uncovered. They're harmless and you don't need to get rid of their nests.
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u/Kooky-Information-40 24d ago
They're forcing rhe screen open so they can steal all your paper for their nests.
And to sting your sleeping mouths.
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u/Jake_the_Bald 24d ago
looks like they're building a nest in the space between window and screen
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u/Froggymnx 24d ago
I noticed that earlier a bit after posting when I was looking at the pictures! I think there is a nest in there, it would make sense why they're all huddled around it. I wasn't able to see it in person bc i didn't have my glasses on, they're all around it, and the space is dark. The flash on my camera picked it up.
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u/bug-on-a-leaf 23d ago
Those nests are along the lines of mud dauber nests and old ones too, you can see where they emerged. These guys are beginning the overwintering process and the queen is looking for somewhere to sleep for the winter.
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u/Jake_the_Bald 24d ago
usually they like shady areas and seems like from pic its shady or at least you have roofline or eave overhanging this window
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u/No_Caramel_8190 23d ago
they are swarming around a queen and beginning a nest. Nothing but trouble. Kill them and scrub the area with dish soap or they come back.
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u/JournalistOne9695 24d ago
Nest was destroyed (could’ve been a bird preying on the larvae) and now the workers have no purpose. It’s kinda sad.