the purpose of Wasps

Subject: the purpose of Wasps
From: muppett
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 11:09 AM

It's just coming upto 16.00hrs and it's almost bitch black outside, memories of Summer are becoming distant & I got to thinking about the good things about Winter. One of them was there arn't any Wasps about. Then got I thinking about What is the purpose of a Wasp in the grand scheme of things,if the wasp was wiped out how would it affect life on Earth.Any ideas, are there any Wasp fans out there (I don't mean rugby fans either).And also those of you who are not Wasp fans, Other than the Human race what other creatures would the planet benefit from not being there.

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 11:11 AM

Dunno, but I reckon they're more useful than Uri Geller.

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 11:13 AM

PS=Wahts "Bitch Black"?

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: MMario
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 11:14 AM

remarkable insight j0hn.

among other things many wasps are predators on other insects - including some that are agricultural pests.

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: GUEST
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 11:15 AM

The purpose of wasps is to sting humans, everyone knows this. Shouldn't this rightly be a BS thread ?

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: muppett
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 11:36 AM

Well spotted john (Pitch)

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Paco Rabanne
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 11:38 AM

A wasp stung me on my head last year when I was mountain biking, the bastard!

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Once Famous
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 11:42 AM

I thought this thread was about White Anglo Saxon Protestants.

Excuse me, I'll let you talk about bugs.

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 11:45 AM

Oh, thought bitch black was a colour shade!
few years ago i took my Jag for a respray, I was asked what colour it was, I said brown, then the paint sprayer took a look at it and said "Ah, yes, Dog Shit Brown", it didn't say that in the brochure though!

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 11:47 AM

What variety of wasp J0hn? There are dozens of different wasps from yellow jackets to Ichneumons, then there's Hornets, Wood wasps, Gall wasps, only a few sting, and what looks like a sting on a Wood wasp is an ovipositor, which they use to lay eggs in rotting wood, sure looks frightening though.
Giok

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 12:01 PM

I use some microscopic Trichogramma wasps to help control pests in the garden (caterpillers). There are a lot of types of wasps and hornets around here, and they are beneficial, but you have to weigh the benefits against their behavior. If they're too aggressive and are near the house or frequently travelled areas, they are a hazard. I was stung last spring when some started building nests on the house. They were attracted by the hummingbird feeder. I had to get rid of the feeder and then knock down a lot of nests before they finally went away.

SRS

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Amos
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 06:08 PM

The purpose of WASPS is to promulgate noblesse oblige, the Puritan Ethic, and the doctrine of Irreversible and Perpetual Responsibility at all costs.


A

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 06:18 PM

"the purpose of Wasps"
They give the rest of the world someone to blame everything on...

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Bert
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 06:32 PM

I assume by wasp that you mean the common old yellow jacket.

Well they do steal a little fruit if it's left on the tree too long, BUT, they eat so many caterpillars that if it weren't for them, there probably wouldn't be any fruit or even leaves left on the tree.

And they won't sting you if you talk nicely to them. They will even let you hand feed them. Put a spot of jam on your finger and hold it out. They will settle on you and enjoy the feast.

They only sting when they get mad, like when they get trapped up your trouser leg and can't get out. So if they are on your window pane and panicking because they can't get out, then you put the spot of jam on a knife or something just in case.

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Blissfully Ignorant
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 06:35 PM

They just look pretty...

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Shanghaiceltic
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 07:18 PM

They liven up picnics!

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: jacqui.c
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 07:22 PM

I get a bad reaction to wasp stings so I kill any of the little b******ds that come anywhere near me, no matter how good they are for pest control.

What good are sharks? Would they be missed?

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Amos
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 07:22 PM

They have high intellectual standards and above-average vocabularies and have always enjoyed conquering the unknown.

A

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Peace
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 07:24 PM

Science needed something to call Vespidae. Ergo, . . . .

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: GUEST,TIA
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 07:50 PM

There are certain olive varieties that are pollinated ONLY by certain wasps. Lose those wasps = no more of those olives.

And Giok mentions the icheumon. Nothing more seemingly cruel and exploitative in the universe (although it is a strategy that seems to work and is therefore "good" in the survival of the fittest sense). The mother wasp lays an egg in a caterpillar (using the ovipisitor, bravo for that fun word Giok). When the egg hatches, the "worm within a worm" knows instinctively to eat only the fatty tissues inside the skin of the caterpillar and leave the vital organs untouched. It thus lives inside its dinner keeping it barely alive just long enough to reach its own pupation. Ugh. But wow.

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: dianavan
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 10:00 PM

Wasps are were especially nasty this last summer. I was stung/ bitten four times. I noticed that they were flying in under the eaves near my kitchen window. Since it was up high, I ignored it. Now I'm worried.

Will they survive the winter if they built a nest there?

When is the best time to destroy their nest?

Should I attempt this myself?

d

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 12:46 AM

Wasps and yellow jackets (hornets) aren't the same thing. And there are lots of types of both. The tarantula hawk is a wasp you see here in Texas and westward into the desert southwest. They are shiny black bodies with bright red wings and they do what their name implies--they prey on tarantulas. They do as with the caterpillars, stun the spider so it is paralyzed and lay eggs so the young have a live meal when they hatch.

SRS

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: GUEST,Boab
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 03:35 AM

Dianavan---there are no wasps available for destruction over the winter. If you can reach either the empty nest, or the spot to which it was anchored, smear some grease there so that the anchorage is erased. The best way to deal with the wasp colony is by the destruction of the nest when all the wasps have gathered in it at dusk. Be cautious when you try this. If it is easily accessible, an aerosol of "Raid" or some other proven wasp-killer squirted directly into the nest entrance will get them all. Make certain that you have a handy escape route BEFORE you start; sometimes an odd wasp escapes--and they don't like what you are doing!
Do bear in mind, though, that wasps can be, on balance, beneficial. Unless you or yours are in danger, or have been stung, let them get on with their lives.

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Mudlark
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 04:03 AM

Some types are more aggressive than others. In Arkansas we had black wasps, which stung only under severe provacation. On the other hand, red wasps were highly territorial and would aggressively pursue and sting anything with the temerity to come within 10 ft of their nests, or themselves. They were looking for trouble. Like hornets.

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 04:38 AM

Wrong sort of WASP Amos, we're not allowed to call people 'white anglo-saxon protestants' over here as you may end up in the European Court of Human Right in the Hague [Strasbourg?] charged with racist behaviour or something.
Giok

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Little Hawk
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 10:28 AM

Consider this possibility: things may not be here so much for a purpose in our sense of evaluating things...as they are here merely to express a given archetype. Every archetype has to be expressed in some fashion. Wasps express the archetype of waspishness. It's that simple.

Imagining that they have a purpose would be like imagining Jerry Lewis has a purpose... :-) They don't need a purpose. They just are what they are.

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: muppett
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 10:29 AM

So what do the sort of WASPS you're on about Amos do in Winter then?

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: muppett
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 10:46 AM

By eck why do folk have to take things so literally

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: muppett
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 10:48 AM

Doesn't Jerry Lewis have a purpose then?

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Ellenpoly
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 10:51 AM

Two bees met in a field. One said to the other, "How are things
going?"
"Really bad," said the second bee. "The weather has been cold, wet,
and damp, and there aren't any flowers, so I can't make honey."
"No problem," said the first bee. "Just fly down five blocks and
turn left.
Keep going until you see all the cars. There's a Bar Mitzvah
going on and there are all kinds of fresh flowers and fresh fruit."
"Thanks for the tip," said the second bee, and flew away.
A few hours later the two bees ran into each other again. The first
bee asked, "How'd it go?"
"Great!" said the second bee. "It was everything you said it would
be.
There was plenty of fruit and, oh, such huge floral arrangements on
every table."
"Uh, what's that thing on your head?" asked the first bee.
"That's my yarmulke," said the second bee. "I didn't want them to
think
I was a wasp."

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Guy Wolff
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 10:52 AM

Where would the American prep school world be with out them ???. Bless thier hearts .(Sorry to the Eruropean Court of Human Rights )
                  

                Muppett : They go to ASPEN skiing !!!


               We have a few clothing catalauges here in the USA like Lands End and LL Bean that would have no one to model thier very expensive stuff .
      

            THis is great, there are two threads in here conplete and yet related . Our Wasps sting as well . Take away their GASOLINE or inconvienience them and see how they sting you .. All the best and sorry if any of this was politicaly incorrect   . I am at least HALF a wasp and proud of it   . Amos will atest to that. We have WASPed together.. What dose that mean ??? ><><>><><

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Little Hawk
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 10:55 AM

I think that in winter wasps mostly die off, but they try to hibernate through it and some manage to survive till spring. You can see them emerging when things start to warm up, and they're a bit weak at first. Then the eggs they laid start hatching and the whole thing moves back into full swing again.

We had a neighbour, Sam, who had a problem with a big football-shaped hornet nest under the eaves of his house. It was near the front entrance and the hornets had already stung his daughter and himself, so he decided to do the "attack at dusk" thing, but he picked the wrong method. He went out just after sunset with a big green garbage bag, slipped it right over the whole nest, and quickly broke the nest off its hanging attachment.

Well, all the hornets realized what was happening, and they came pouring out of the nest into the interior of the garbage bag, mad as hell. Sam was holding the bag tightly at the top, and the nest had fallen down to the bottom. The entire bag started to swell up kind of like a balloon, humming furiously with hundreds of enraged hornets, while Sam desperately attempted to secure the top with a twist tie. He kept fumbling it for some reason, though...and then dropped it.

"Sue! Sue! Get another twist tie!" he yelled frantically to his daughter. She opened the door, took one look, and fled. His wife took one look and slammed the door shut, and locked it! (I guess she was worried he might come inside.)

Poor Sam jumped around yelling and screaming for about the next 30 seconds, bringing the whole neighborhood out on their porches, but no one would go near him. The hornets, meanwhile, had decided that the way out was at the top, and they were beginning to sting his hand right through the plastic! Sam, in the last stages of desperation, ran across a couple of yards to a hedge that faced on the orchard and THREW the bag over the hedge...turned and ran like a madman for his house. It was almost dark outside, but you could see the cloud of hornets rise up from behind the hedge like an explosion.

Sam escaped into the back door of his house with only a couple more stings. The darkness had been sufficient to save him from most of them.

This incident may rank as one of the least clever ways ever found to dispose of a large hornet nest.

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 11:09 AM

hello, in winter the wasps go to spane, and other hot countries, and in spring time they fly back here again.

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: muppett
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 11:14 AM

Oh

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: SINSULL
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 11:42 AM

Wasps' shape defines the form for a perfect female waist. What more do you want from them?

Kendall got rid of his wasp nest (paper wasps) by going out at dusk and setting fire to it. He was unharmed but I thought that was a foolhardy approach.

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: GUEST,Mingulay
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 11:55 AM

Had a wasps nest on the boat once, in a drain from the foredeck. Got rid of it by pouring extra deadly wasp killer down it and blocking the hole. Flushed the corpses out with a hose. Very satisfying. Never thought about setting fire to it, wonder why?

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: GUEST,Paul Burke
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 12:22 PM

Same as the purpose of people. None whatsoever. They just are, thanks to successfully adapting to the environment they found themselves in. The ones that didn't mostly died out, the rest just aren't wasps.

It really amused me when that recent (geologically) humanoid fossil was found, and commentators were saying that it would force a rethink of evolutionary theory. Can anyone tell me why that would be necessary?

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: MaineDog
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 12:22 PM

That should get Sam a nomination for the 2005 Darwin Awards for exemplary demonstration of natural selection
MD

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 12:27 PM

I hope none of you wasp killers are against fox hunting?
Giok :~)

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 25 Nov 04 - 01:38 AM

Whats the last thing on a wasps mind when it hits your windscreen at
45mph...............?

It's arse.

eric

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Little Hawk
Date: 25 Nov 04 - 08:47 AM

Paul - It wouldn't be necessary, but they'd do it anyway. At least 85% of the stuff people spend their time doing is not necessary.

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Cluin
Date: 25 Nov 04 - 11:08 AM

The purpose of wasps is to sting the f*@# out of things.

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 25 Nov 04 - 11:11 AM

Hello, dident Richard Tomson write a song about them? [Waspsting]

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Pied Piper
Date: 25 Nov 04 - 11:21 AM

To propogate Wasp genes.
Although we could wast hours discussing the use of the word "Perpose".

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Little Hawk
Date: 25 Nov 04 - 01:56 PM

We could indeed...there is no such word as "Perpose". :-)

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: robomatic
Date: 25 Nov 04 - 02:17 PM

THE PURPOSE OF WASPS -

Someone has to pay retail!

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 25 Nov 04 - 03:37 PM

if there was no Uri Geller, there might no bent forks, clocks wouldn't stop inexplicably and......er thats about it.

I had a wasps nest in my roof last year. It was very beautiful - a big round thing. If we gave them a government grant and sent on a retraing programme. Wasps could make big round things for people who need them and desist from all this anti social stinging.

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Little Hawk
Date: 25 Nov 04 - 05:18 PM

One thing you can say in favour of wasps...they are responsive. They will never ignore you when you are desperately in need of attention. No siree.

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: Les from Hull
Date: 26 Nov 04 - 01:45 PM

The wasps in the UK are mainly vespula vulgaris and vespula germanicus. They are social wasps and the mated females hibernate over winter and set up a new nest in the spring. They like anything sweet, but they also feed insects to their larvae, so they do help keep some garden pests in order. Except in the autumn when they nest breaks up and they are just a bloody nuisance.

There you are Mr Uppett.

Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps
From: open mike
Date: 26 Nov 04 - 05:35 PM

i found a paper wasp's nest (remnant) in the woods...
amazing the intricate work they do...different materials
all blended together in different shades of grey and brown..
good work! we also have mud daubers who make their nests of---
well, you guessed it.
and then there are meat bees...
and ground-dweeling ones...
maybe these are the ones you call hornest..
they seem to sting in mass.
some of them pollinate figs, too.
and there is a small wasp which can help to control
the spread of flies....horse owners often get these
to keep down the maggots in horse poop. i do not know
how they do it, but presumable lay eggs on the maggots
or in the pupae...yum yum...
sometimes i can hear them munching on woody stems--
i hear a scritch scritch scritch in the garden and
look to see what it is and there is a wasp crunching
on a sun flower stem....probably making paper.
many of these critters are in the order Hymenoptera.
the velvet ant is actually a wing-less wasp.
there are 75,000 species of wasps and most of them are parasitic.