Wasp Nest Removal ~ Information

Social bees and wasps build complex nests that house the queen, workers and young. Some of these insects nest underground but most tend to make their home in trees, caves or around the roof area of houses. Some species also ue the cells to store food. These little cells are often built in flatish sheets called combs. In warm coutries, wasps and bees often build open celled nests with no protective covering. In coller countries, many species prtect their nest by enclosing it in a tough covering. In the wild, honey bees construct nests with long, slender open-celled combs. They also live in human-made hives. Bumblebees live in smaller nests, often underground. Some tropical wasps build heavy mud nests hanging from a tree brnch. These nests have a long, vertical, slit-shaped opening.

HIDDEN NEST

Bumblebee queens make homes in abandoned animal burrows, rocky crevices or grassy hollows. The small nests contains an untidy comb with a few brood cells for the young. The queen also builds a little pot to store honey, which she feeds on in spring when she incubates her first batch of eggs. Bumblebee workers die off in winter, and only the young queens survive.

HOME SWEET HOME

Wild honeybees nest in tree holes. the slender combs are covered with cells made from wax. Workers have special glands on the underside of their abdomens to produce the wax.

OUT OF HARM'S WAY

This long, slender wasps' nest in Central America is out of the reach of many enemies. The nest is protected by a stout paper cover and has a small opening at the bottom. When threatened, some tropical wasps beat their wings on the nest case to make a loud sound that frightens enemies away.

BELL-SHAPED HOME

In Venezuela in South America, these tropical wasps have built a bell-shaped next hanging from a tree branch. The nest looks heavy, but it is made of chewed wood fibres and so is in fact fairly light.

CAMOUFLAGED AS A TWIG

In South America, some species of wasps build long, thin nests that resemble slender twigs hanging downwards, such as this one from Peru. Other South American wasps construct a paper nest with more prickles than a porcupine. Around the world, wasps nests vary in size as well as shape. The smallest are tiny, and the largest measure up to 1m long.

NEST WITHIN A NEST

This skillful weaver bird in souther Africa is making its nest by tying grass into knots. The nest is hanging from a branch. Sometimes, a colony of African wasps will build their own home inside a weaver birds' nest. The wasps' brood cells are protected from the weather. In return, the stinging insects help protect the birds from their enemies.

BUILDING A SAXONY WASP NEST

A Saxony wasp nest is started by the queen alone, without any help from her workers. The nest is made from chewed up wood fibres. It begins as a tiny cup and gradually grows to the size of a football or even larger. The gnawed fibres are soft and flexible at first, but later, dry hard and tough. While the nest is still small, the queen lays an egg in each cell on the comb. When the larvae (young insects) hatch, she feeds them on chewed-up insects. When her first brood become adult workers they take over the day-to-day running of the colony. As the numbers of insects in the colony grow, the nest gets bigger.

BEE AND WASP COLONIES

Social bee and wasp colonies work like miniture smooth-running cities. Like good citizens, all the insects in the colony instinctively know their roles and carry out their tasks.

In a honeybee colony, the workers perform different tasks according to their age. The youngest workers stay in the nest and spend their first weeks cleaning out the brood cells. Later they feed the young. As the wax glands in their abdomen develop, they also keep the nest at the right temperature. After about three weeks, the worker honeybees go outside to fetch nectar and pollen to store or to feed their sisters. The oldest, most experienced workers act as guards and scouts. Many wasp colonies work in a similar way, with workers doing different jobs according to their age.

ATTACK OF THE KILLER BEES

Several horror films have featured "deadly bees" that attack and kill people without warning. In the late 20th century, real killer bees caused a great scare in America. A deadly strain of crossbred bees developed when African honeybees mated with honybees in South America. Many people were killed by stings from the crossbred bees. Most of the people were stung when they disturbed a bee nest by accident.

BEE STING - TREATMENT

Bee stings cause pain and often produce swelling. If you are stung by a bee, gently ease the sting out, then wash the area with soap and water. A cold, damp cloth can help to ease the pain and bring down the swelling. The pain lasts only a few minutes, but the swelling may take a day or more to go down.

WASP STINGS

When a wasp or bee stings, the spine punctures its victim's skin, then the gland pumps venom into the wound. Only female wasps and bees have stings.

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