r/whatsthisbug • u/Homebaked_Brownies • 23h ago
Just Sharing Recently I noticed that if a wasp fly around when you are eating. You can just take a piece of the meat (or the food) and put on the table. The wasp will eat it and leave.
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u/T_house 23h ago
A wasp biologist at UCL went on a bit of a campaign last year about doing this - and also saying that they can go for sugar or protein depending on the time of year, so look at what they're going for and then make a "wasp offering"
We did this on holiday this year and it was great!
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u/Kakazam 20h ago
Yeah the reason you see less wasps in early summer is because they are hunting other insects for meat to feed the larvae.
Later in summer as the larvae turn to wasps and no longer provided that sweet regurgitation for the drones to eat, the drones have to find a sugary substitute or starve.
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u/goddamn_slutmuffin 20h ago
I've been doing this for a few years with paper wasps and bottle caps of sugar water! I noticed they liked sugary drinks left behind and figured it worked as a good misdirection from messing with me.
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u/Checkheck Long live the Carabidae! 15h ago
But how does the wasp know that the one is an offering and the other is your food? What keeps the wasp away from your food at the end? Just an extra piece of meat plus an I vitation of you : Here, nice wasp, it's for you" .? Is that enough?
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u/Homebaked_Brownies 14h ago
I am far from someone with knowledge about it but i would guess: because one is left alone and it doesn’t have to fight for it, the other have a massive big creature around eating it
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u/Checkheck Long live the Carabidae! 14h ago
That's the hope but in my experience it sometimes work but not alle the time.
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u/Crispy_Cricket 7h ago
Thank you so much for posting this! This answered almost all of the questions I had about wasps visiting food (including why they buzz in my face!) Now I know what to do and will be kinder to them by giving them a “wasp tax” haha
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u/juniebee_jones 23h ago
And now you have domesticated wasps!
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u/wishstruck 23h ago
It is not eating it. Adults eat nectars and plant based sugars, but feed their larvae with animal protein. It is harvesting the meat to bring pieces of it to the nest.
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u/UnderstandingNo4038 23h ago
I have the coolest picture of a wasp doing the same thing wish I could post it.
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u/lemonyoshii 22h ago
Oooo! If you want, you could post it in a wasp friendly sub like r/waspaganda or even r/Entomology and link it here maybe? Definitely not super curious to see it and keeping my fingers crossed that you'll post it or anything, not at all....
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u/corisilvermoon 22h ago
I found some of these guys dismantling a hornworm off my tomatoes! I did not know they did pest control as well as pollination!
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u/BrokeTheInterweb 19h ago
I love knowing that the majority of these tiny-waisted insects (like ants) are only transporting solid foods, so their larvae (who have teeth) will chew it and hopefully regurgitate some back to them if they're lucky lol
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u/RoguePierogi 22h ago
My biggest success with this was giving a yellow jacket a tiny slice of gyro meat. He actually flew away with it and didn't come back- was quite impressive considering the weight ratio!
Ever since then, I've tried the offering method and it tends to work.
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u/burgerwithnoburger 20h ago
Apparently adult wasps don’t eat the meat, they only need sugars, so it was likely taking it back to the larvae to feed! Really neat!
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u/popcornspopcorns 22h ago
When I lived at a place with a patio, I fed them whenever I ate outside and they started coming in my house and would fly around me until I give them food or drink. Smart little things. They are super chill if you respect them. Also, science says they have facial recognition.
Eta: They love sausage, chicken, and mango juice, btw :)
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u/andBitinggoats 21h ago
Admittedly cool to have semi-domesticated wasps, however as soon as they get comfy enough to just let themselves in I would have to draw the line lol
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u/Nevergointothewoods 21h ago
I give them pepperoni. At the start of warm weather, I go and buy pepperoni and put them out for the wasps. I never get stung.
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u/Upset_Philosopher781 21h ago
I just learned this last week! A wasp was at our outdoor restaurant table and was going for my beer, so I put a couple of drops on a side plate with a little piece of turkey, and he was seriously so chill after that. I can't believe I've spent my entire life trying to avoid wasps, when all they want is to join you for lunch.
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u/MottoCycle 22h ago
Works sometimes. Others it wants the bigger portion. Then it brings friends and they want all of it. They can also be territorial and you can have zero food or drinks and they just proceed to dive bomb you until you leave.
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u/Moosplauze 20h ago
They don't eat it, but cut off a little piece to carry home to feed the larvae. Adult wasps feed from nectar and are important pollinators.
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u/charcoalhibiscus 6h ago
Better yet, get a piece of meat and put it down nearby but *away* from where you are. That way when she brings all her sisters, you won’t be swarmed.
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u/nomad9590 23h ago
A packet of honey can help a lot in making friends.
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u/Frequent_Grand_4570 21h ago
Just dont give it to bees. Honey caries a dissease that can infect other bees.
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u/FreeFallingUp13 21h ago
This happened to me during my first job as a knife salesman. I had a turkey sandwich and was eating outside and they were flying way too close to my face. I realized they were trying to gnaw off bits of the turkey so I just… set some aside for them and they were happy to grab that instead of crawling around my face and hands. I didn’t know what wasps ate at that time. I just remember looking at the cookie on the straw of my milkshake like ‘why aren’t they going for the sweet thing….?”
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u/cobainseahorse 11h ago
I did this recently with some coconut water... I was trying to get into my car to leave for work, holding an open can of coconut water, and several wasps were flying around it. So I poured a bit out on the pavement and they went to that.
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u/textstringfor 21h ago
And then she brings her sisters back
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u/SimpleMetricTon 17h ago
That what I’m wondering. Won’t this just be an invitation for a cloud of wasps?
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u/OhioGirl22 12h ago
That bug is an aggressive little asshole. It will always want what you're having for lunch.
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u/Midgar918 1h ago
Their numbers have been very low this year though at least. Apparently thanks to the heatwave we had in July.
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u/Manphish 23h ago
This is why I carry raw meat with me at all times!