23 Nov 04 - 11:09 AM (#1336523) Subject: the purpose of Wasps From: muppett 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. |
23 Nov 04 - 11:11 AM (#1336528) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull Dunno, but I reckon they're more useful than Uri Geller. |
23 Nov 04 - 11:13 AM (#1336532) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull PS=Wahts "Bitch Black"? |
23 Nov 04 - 11:14 AM (#1336534) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: MMario remarkable insight j0hn. among other things many wasps are predators on other insects - including some that are agricultural pests. |
23 Nov 04 - 11:15 AM (#1336535) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: GUEST The purpose of wasps is to sting humans, everyone knows this. Shouldn't this rightly be a BS thread ? |
23 Nov 04 - 11:36 AM (#1336558) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: muppett Well spotted john (Pitch) |
23 Nov 04 - 11:38 AM (#1336562) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Paco Rabanne A wasp stung me on my head last year when I was mountain biking, the bastard! |
23 Nov 04 - 11:42 AM (#1336566) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Once Famous I thought this thread was about White Anglo Saxon Protestants. Excuse me, I'll let you talk about bugs. |
23 Nov 04 - 11:45 AM (#1336568) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull 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! |
23 Nov 04 - 11:47 AM (#1336570) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: John MacKenzie 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 |
23 Nov 04 - 12:01 PM (#1336582) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Stilly River Sage 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 |
23 Nov 04 - 06:08 PM (#1336963) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Amos The purpose of WASPS is to promulgate noblesse oblige, the Puritan Ethic, and the doctrine of Irreversible and Perpetual Responsibility at all costs. A |
23 Nov 04 - 06:18 PM (#1336976) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Clinton Hammond "the purpose of Wasps" They give the rest of the world someone to blame everything on... |
23 Nov 04 - 06:32 PM (#1336990) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Bert 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. |
23 Nov 04 - 06:35 PM (#1336995) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Blissfully Ignorant They just look pretty... |
23 Nov 04 - 07:18 PM (#1337032) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Shanghaiceltic They liven up picnics! |
23 Nov 04 - 07:22 PM (#1337038) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: jacqui.c 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? |
23 Nov 04 - 07:22 PM (#1337040) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Amos They have high intellectual standards and above-average vocabularies and have always enjoyed conquering the unknown. A |
23 Nov 04 - 07:24 PM (#1337041) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Peace Science needed something to call Vespidae. Ergo, . . . . |
23 Nov 04 - 07:50 PM (#1337079) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: GUEST,TIA 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. |
23 Nov 04 - 10:00 PM (#1337215) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: dianavan 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 |
24 Nov 04 - 12:46 AM (#1337289) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Stilly River Sage 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 |
24 Nov 04 - 03:35 AM (#1337347) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: GUEST,Boab 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. |
24 Nov 04 - 04:03 AM (#1337358) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Mudlark 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. |
24 Nov 04 - 04:38 AM (#1337383) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: John MacKenzie 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 |
24 Nov 04 - 10:28 AM (#1337640) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Little Hawk 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. |
24 Nov 04 - 10:29 AM (#1337643) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: muppett So what do the sort of WASPS you're on about Amos do in Winter then? |
24 Nov 04 - 10:46 AM (#1337667) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: muppett By eck why do folk have to take things so literally |
24 Nov 04 - 10:48 AM (#1337670) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: muppett Doesn't Jerry Lewis have a purpose then? |
24 Nov 04 - 10:51 AM (#1337672) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Ellenpoly 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." |
24 Nov 04 - 10:52 AM (#1337675) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Guy Wolff 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 ??? ><><>><>< |
24 Nov 04 - 10:55 AM (#1337681) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Little Hawk 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. |
24 Nov 04 - 11:09 AM (#1337701) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull hello, in winter the wasps go to spane, and other hot countries, and in spring time they fly back here again. |
24 Nov 04 - 11:14 AM (#1337706) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: muppett Oh |
24 Nov 04 - 11:42 AM (#1337748) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: SINSULL 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. |
24 Nov 04 - 11:55 AM (#1337769) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: GUEST,Mingulay 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? |
24 Nov 04 - 12:22 PM (#1337803) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: GUEST,Paul Burke 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? |
24 Nov 04 - 12:22 PM (#1337805) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: MaineDog That should get Sam a nomination for the 2005 Darwin Awards for exemplary demonstration of natural selection MD |
24 Nov 04 - 12:27 PM (#1337817) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: John MacKenzie I hope none of you wasp killers are against fox hunting? Giok :~) |
25 Nov 04 - 01:38 AM (#1338484) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Dave Hanson Whats the last thing on a wasps mind when it hits your windscreen at 45mph...............? It's arse. eric |
25 Nov 04 - 08:47 AM (#1338709) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Little Hawk 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. |
25 Nov 04 - 11:08 AM (#1338833) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Cluin The purpose of wasps is to sting the f*@# out of things. |
25 Nov 04 - 11:11 AM (#1338841) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull Hello, dident Richard Tomson write a song about them? [Waspsting] |
25 Nov 04 - 11:21 AM (#1338854) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Pied Piper To propogate Wasp genes. Although we could wast hours discussing the use of the word "Perpose". |
25 Nov 04 - 01:56 PM (#1338968) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Little Hawk We could indeed...there is no such word as "Perpose". :-) |
25 Nov 04 - 02:17 PM (#1338990) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: robomatic THE PURPOSE OF WASPS - Someone has to pay retail! |
25 Nov 04 - 03:37 PM (#1339069) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Big Al Whittle 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. |
25 Nov 04 - 05:18 PM (#1339144) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Little Hawk 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. |
26 Nov 04 - 01:45 PM (#1339865) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Les from Hull 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. |
26 Nov 04 - 05:35 PM (#1340051) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: open mike 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. |
26 Nov 04 - 11:04 PM (#1340254) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Ebbie I used to do a great deal of hiking. By preference I left the trails and cut across country. Other than having left a note at home saying in which general direction I was headed, no one would have had any idea of how or where to find me if I went missing. One day I was pushing my way through chest-high brush. It was so thick I rarely could see the ground beneath my feet. At a certain point I stopped to catch my breath and became aware of s humming, buzzing sound. I looked down and about a foot and a half from my right hand was an enormous hornets nest. They hadn't noticed me but a step or two in the wrong direction and I could have hit it with my arm. Holding my breath I backed up, gently, quietly, stealthily replacing branches as I went. |
24 Mar 07 - 05:13 PM (#2006103) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Rasener Oh dear its retard Guest come back to haunt us. LOL :-) |
24 Mar 07 - 05:33 PM (#2006121) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Don Firth (My goodness, that was an interesting outburst!) Now, wasps. Maybe they do keep down the level of agricultural pests and such, but what earthly good are mosquitoes? Don Firth |
24 Mar 07 - 05:36 PM (#2006124) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: bobad "what earthly good are mosquitoes?" Food for many species including the colourful songbirds we all enjoy. |
24 Mar 07 - 07:05 PM (#2006186) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Becca72 As a child I was stung in the tear duct of my right eye by a yellow jacket. 1mm over and he would have gotten me right in the eyeball. Ick, bleck, yuck! And all because he didn't like the squeaking noise of my swingset. Ever since then, I have no earthly use for the little bastards. |
24 Mar 07 - 08:17 PM (#2006224) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Amos They have been very valuable in establishing order in semi-chaotic cultures, exporting the genius of industrial revolution, advancing chemistry, medicine, information technology, and other fine inventions. They were the primary cultural force behind the American Constitution and the Magna Carta. They have contributed mightily to ourt literature, music and other arts, advanced cuisine, conquest of the wilderness, the mechanisms of mass production and many other things we rely upon including our electrical systems. Let's hear it for WASPS. A |
25 Mar 07 - 04:01 PM (#2006886) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Teribus For the type of WASP's Amos was talking about, all of what he said but Magna Carta no. At the signing of the Magna Carta at Runnemead England was still a Catholic country. For the other type of wasps, they are vital, no wasps we'd be over-run by bluebottles and other flies. |
25 Mar 07 - 04:13 PM (#2006892) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Amos Teribus: Thanks for the correction. It is clear that they were not Protestatants, but surely they qualified as white anglo-saxon protesters. A |
25 Mar 07 - 09:04 PM (#2007121) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: GUEST,282RA >>I thought this thread was about White Anglo Saxon Protestants.<< Now THOSE we can do without. I have NO idea what purpose they serve in the grand scheme of things and I doubt they know either. I'll take the insects anyday (in fact, my yard is infested with them but I'm immune to wasp stings so I don't care). |
26 Mar 07 - 12:37 AM (#2007211) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Amos Stop and think of the value received, R--name a field, and the biggest contributions were probably WASPs. A |
26 Mar 07 - 03:25 AM (#2007244) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: Gurney As Amos says. Except some contributers were WASCs. The purpose of wasps is to sting rich people, to remind them they aren't gods. Very egalitarian, your average wasp. Rich people here fight back with dispensers in their houses, which spray insecticide at intervals. They would rather breath that stuff than be reminded! I haven't worked out why wasps make a beeline (hah) for the wife, though. |
26 Mar 07 - 07:06 AM (#2007349) Subject: RE: the purpose of Wasps From: JennyO I can think of a few purposes for wasps. For one thing, there is a variety of parasitic wasp, Trissolcus basalis, that attacks and parasitizes stink bug eggs. Having waged war all summer on the stink bugs that were eating my lemon tree, I'm of the opinion that the only good stink bug is a dead stink bug. So if there are any wasps out there that would like a free meal next summer, I can tell you where to come! There are also parasitic wasps that attack some of the pests that damage tomato crops - such as white fly. And I do love my homegrown tomatoes! So more power to the wasps! |