I am not overly fond of wasps and bees in that I am allergic to their stings. I’m not deathly allergic like some folks, but I do swell up more than most and I itch for 2-3 weeks. I have also been known to get hives, which is always unpleasant. Besides, nobody wants to get stung. Even if you’re not allergic, it hurts! I do love wasps and bees, though, because besides being beautiful to look at, they are so very beneficial to our environment.

One of my favorite wasps is the paper wasp. It is a very attractive yellow and brown wasp that builds beautiful lacy, paper-like (that’s where the name comes from, if you didn’t guess) nests. The adult wasps build these nests by mixing plant fibers and dead wood fibers with their own saliva and sculpting them bit by bit into a good sized complex of tubules. Paper wasps are not aggressive, and only sting when threatened. They live and reproduce in a nest for the spring, summer, and into the fall before abandoning it and going into hibernation for the winter.

Like many wasps and bees, paper wasps feed on the nectar of spring and summer flowers, and are vital to the environment for pollination of all sorts of plants, including crops. Without pollinators, our entire way of life, and probably our entire world would collapse! Paper wasps are also beneficial because they feed flies, gnats, mosquitoes, and other pest insects to their larvae. By helping to control these potentially disease causing pests, they keep the rest of us more comfortable and healthier. So even though they can sting, let’s try to appreciate these helpful insects and all the good they do in this world!