August 15, 1991 - Bzzz: Beware the Sorties of AugustC8 The Suffolk Times • August 15, 1991
B zzz: Beware the Sorties of August
By Paul Stoutenburah
'Tis the season for picnics, and pic-
nics mean food and food means yellow
jackets. It seems to me we're having
more and more of these pesky fellows
each year but it might be because we're
just having more time for picnics. And
it's not only picnics: In our family
whenever the weather is right we eat
outside on the patio.
No matter what, yellow jackets are a
real problem. I almost had one go in
my mouth yesterday as I brought up a
tasty bit of food to eat. It followed the
food from the plate to my fork and then
persisted in following it toward my
mouth. That was just too much and so
with a little detective work I located two
of their in- ground nests in my garden
and my grandson found one over by his
house. Like many detectives who get
too close to their suspect and get hurt, I
got too close and was stung on the leg.
The difference between the sting of a
yellow jacket and a honey bee is that
the bee stings only once while a single
yellow jacket can come at you time and
time again. The honey bee's stinger is
like a barbed hook and is not easily
pulled out, even though you instantly
swat and kill the bee. The stinger re-
mains imbedded under the skin. Further-
more, when pulled free from the bee,
the stinger has muscles attached that
continue to pump toxins into your
body. That is why with bee stings it is
important to "scrape" over the sting area
with your finger nail to remove the
stinger as soon as possible.
Focus on
Nature
Get Away from Them
As for the yellow jacket, there is no
imbedded stringer, just an injection of
toxin. The only relief is to try to kill it
and get out of the danger zone as soon
as possible. The trouble with this
advice is that a yellow jacket, like a
bee, will usually follow you, even
though you get out of his territory. It is
a matter of acting quickly and getting
under cover. But let's get one thing
straight right here and now: Yellow
jackets and bees don't usually attack
unless you threaten them.
I've often seen ladies get stung be-
cause a bee is attracted to their hair
spray or body perfume. Actually, the
bee is inquiring if there is nectar hidden
about. The buzzing excites the person,
who starts swatting and brushing,
which eventually strikes the bee and it
will immediately go on the defensive
and sting. I know it's rather hard to sit
by and just let them "bug" you but the
best practice is to get out of that
particular area.
Yellow jackets build their nests in the
ground and by following their flight one
can usually find their homing burrow.
Once found, an eradication can take
place after dark. Get one of the insect
sprays and spray it for a good period of
time after dark when there's no activity
and then press a jar or can firmly over
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Photo by Paul Stoutenburyh
DANGER —This basketball -sized nest of the bald -faced hornet should
be a warning sign to stay clear. Like the smaller yellow jacket that lives
in the ground, the hornet can be a problem if disturbed.
the entrance. This keeps the spray en-
trapped and your yellow jackets should
be eliminated by the next day.
The Queen Starts It
The life cycle of wasps of all sorts
starts with a queen that has hibernated
over the winter in some protected place.
When the warm weather comes in
spring she emerges and starts her new
family. By the way, she is much larger
than the small workers we see around
our picnic table. She raises the first
brood but from then on she changes her
role from rearing young to just laying
eggs in her ever - expanding nest. The
newborn are workers and build the
chamber larger and larger; as the eggs
are laid and food brought to the young
the area has to be expanded. In some
cases there will be hundreds of wasps in
the hive and in the case of the bald -faced
hornet, thousands.
The yellow jacket workers scavenge
for food — nectar, fruit and meat, which
are their specialties, and your picnic
table overflows with these. These good-
ies are brought back to feed the young
and the process goes on and on. Each
has his own job. Some expand the nest.
Others are food providers. Others are
guards to the nest. All are female work-
ers. There are some lazy males that do
nothing but mate with the queen and die
in the colony. The remarkable thing
about this process is that these different
tasks are somehow mysteriously passed
on to each individual wasp worker so
that they know exactly what their job
is.
The bald -faced hornet mentioned
above, also known as the white -faced
hornet, is the one that makes the big,
grey basketball-sized paper nest. This is
a big wasp, three times the size of a
yellow jacket, and should be avoided
whenever possible. That big elaborate
nest that hangs under the eaves or in a
tree is used to raise the young for only
one year. As fall approaches and the
cold weather takes over all the wasp
workers die and the queens, like the
yellow jacket queens, will hibernate
through the winter months and emerge
in the spring to set the whole process in
motion once again.
The nest is made of regurgitated old
wood glued together in the form of a
waterproof nest. For those who have
these potentially dangerous nests close
to their house, the nests can be elimi-
nated at night by cutting the branch
they are attached to and putting it into a
garbage pail with an active insect bomb
in it. Covered up, it will kill all your
wasps. If it is not near your traffic zone,
leave it alone for these bald -faced hor-
nets feed their young on destructive
caterpillars and do not usually visit your
picnic table.
Remember, all these procedures
should be undertaken only by people
who are not allergic to bee stings. In
some rare cases, stings can be danger-
ous. The world we live in is one that
has many pleasures and, in a few cases,
some danger. Knowing how to cope
with the danger, whether it is a grizzly
bear or a yellow jacket, is something
we should all understand and take in our
stride.
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