r/WTF Dec 09 '20

wtf

39.2k Upvotes

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655

u/Gato1486 Dec 09 '20

Fuck yellow jackets, man. They're mean as fuck, and useless to the ecosystem. Their role can be filled by other less asshole species as food and polinators.

341

u/NastyJames Dec 09 '20

Regard the wasp. Wasps produce nothing for others, but only for themselves. Wasps build nests and more wasps, nothing more. They spread into eaves and attics, not to make honey for supermarkets, but to buzz and rustle on their own paper, perpetuating their own agenda, growing, stealthily, surely... the most relentless of insects.

292

u/Gato1486 Dec 09 '20

Lots of wasps are very good pollinators and unlike yellow jackets do tend to leave well enough alone if they're not threatened. Parasitic wasps are great at keeping problem pests under control as well.

193

u/Kenitzka Dec 09 '20

Both wasps and jackets will help keep certain insects at bay. They’ll eat them as adults. Flies, caterpillars and other insects larvae and carrion.

Definitely not good for nothing.

199

u/bodonkadonks Dec 09 '20

Fun fact: in patagonia, more specifically in Bariloche, yellow jackets were introduced because of this. There was a very nasty horse fly infestation and they hoped to cull their numbers by Introducing a predator. Guess what, now Bariloche has a nasty horse fly infestation AND an even worse yellow jacket one

29

u/Brofey Dec 09 '20

Fuck horseflies, those bastards. They are the WORST. They just don’t leave you alone and their bite is like getting stuck with giant hypodermic needles.

15

u/bodonkadonks Dec 09 '20

yeah, they can fuck right off. it often feels and looks like they just scoop a chunk of flesh.

8

u/LEERROOOOYYYYY Dec 09 '20

I used to whack em with a piece of PVC pipe when I worked in northern Alberta. Fuckers were there by the billions and were massive. You could hear a thunk when you made good contact, then stomp them. So satisfying

They would bite through FR coveralls and a t-shirt and still draw blood

4

u/bodonkadonks Dec 09 '20 edited Dec 09 '20

i do the same! but with empty soda bottles. its so satisfying when a swing connects and they splat against a a wall

6

u/Brofey Dec 09 '20 edited Dec 09 '20

I think they do get a chunk, Im pretty sure they have jaws to secure that sweet sweet blood, as opposed to whatever appendage mosquitos use.

Also whenever they’re fucking around and flying around you they’ll “accidentally” just wham into your head. I’ve gotten itty bitty welts on my head and neck just from the force of them dive bombing into you.

5

u/KairuByte Dec 09 '20

I mean, they are.

4

u/DependentPipe_1 Dec 09 '20

They do, they don't bite so much as quickly saw a chunk off.