Wasps Are Cool @swarmofwasps-official - Tumblr Blog

I don’t understand how someone can harbour so much hate for a wasp. They don’t want to sting you. They just feel they have to. I’m not saying you should offer yourself up as sacrifice to every wasp you see or even that you should try to spare every nest. Just give a little understanding. They’re just trying to live. They don’t know they’re in the way, or that you don’t mean harm.

Sorry if this makes no sense. It’s almost 4 am.

addicted2wasps

WASP BLAST! I got bored, and crammed together every single wasp drawing I have done so far. A collage, if you will. Enjoy!

Women on STEMs

So many people LOVE to HATE yellowjackets. It is said that they are Satan's insects, that they are the a$$holes of the insect/wasp world, that they are useless, etc. Here's the thing, it's actually totally possible to coexist with them peacefully when you understand the animal and its behaviour. Most people instinctively swat aggressively and wave their arms violently when a yellowjacket is flying around or close to them. To the wasp, that's perceived as aggression, so of course it will get defensive. I understand that it can be intimidating and a bit scary to have a yellowjacket flying so close to your proximity, but I tend to stay still, not make any sudden movements, and the wasp will eventually lose interest and fly away. If need be, I'll slowly put my hand in front of my face to encourage the wasp to land on my hand and not my face if it ever came to that, but I've never had one actually land on my face. I understand that like any animal, they are showing signs of curiosity and are just checking me out. Yellowjackets are actually very important pest control, and also pollinators. I've seen them on all kinds of different flowers such as: Sedum, Sumac, Solidago, Doellingeria, Diervilla, Asclepias, and the list goes on. Featured above, are several different photos/screenshots of myself interacting with yellowjackets, and in every single one of those instances, I have NEVER been stung. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think a lot of the hatred for these wasps is a lack of understanding. If I can interact with them without getting stung, I'm sure other people can as well, they just need to understand the behaviour and body language of these wasps. I would obviously NEVER approach an entire mature nest of yellowjackets, as that would clearly get me stung. They are very protective of their own kind, and their young. But an individual or several individual yellowjackets flying around in my yard or in the wild, are pretty passive, and will only sting as a very last resort. It would be inefficient to waste venom on something so trivial. In conclusion, I think yellowjackets are very misunderstood. I personally think they can be very sweet and neutral in temperament if treated with respect.

#wasps

infertilityidol

*introducing myself to the guards who caught me* seized to meet you

razehider

despite the lack of the classic stem-chomping pose associated with sleeping wasps, this Prionyx was clearly not fully awake or at least winding down, and only moved whenever i bothered it too much. my main intention was to show off its face and waist, but you can still see its oversized hind legs that almost resemble the grasshoppers its mom once fed it as a baby

i also got whatever this ridiculous shot is supposed to be so you can appreciate the aforementioned chompers

(August 29th, 2025)

#wasps

randomanimaloftheday

Day 342#: Common Blue Mud-Dauber Wasp

Today's animal of the day is the Common Blue Mud-Dauber Wasp (Chalybion californicum)!

Photo credit: Neil Cant

This bright metallic blue species of parasitoid wasp can be found throughout North America, with a native range from northern Mexico all the way to southern Canada. However, they've also been introduced as invasive species to many other parts of the world, such as Hawaii, Bermuda, and parts of Europe. Like other species of mud-dauber wasps, they build their nests out of mud mixed with their saliva, instead of chewing up wood and other plant fibers to make a sort of natural papier-mâché like paper wasps do. Only the females make these mud nests, since they use them as a safe place to lay their eggs and raise their larvae. While they usually build their own nests, this species has been observed fixing up abandoned mud nests made by other wasps or just stealing nests and removing any eggs or larvae inside so they can lay their own eggs in there.

Photo credit: Kent P. McFarland

These wasps are parasitoids, meaning that they sting their prey in order to paralyze them and bring them back alive to their nests so their young can eat them later. This species exclusively hunts spiders and seems to have a special taste for black widows. While their larvae are carnivorous, the adults are actually herbivores and feed mostly on flower nectar and pollen. They play a key role in their ecosystem as both predators and pollinators, and they actually do a better job at pollinating wild flowers (at least those native to North America) than domestic honey bees do, since those are native to Europe and prefer to feed on non-native flowers. Wasps, in general, are honestly underappreciated as pollinators, since people just see them as angrier/evil versions of bees. Mud-dauber wasps are usually very hesitant to sting humans, and even when they do, their stings aren't usually dangerous, just a bit painful. Males are actually unable to sting at all, since they don't need to hunt prey to feed their young and therefore don't need stingers.

#wasps

parchment-wasp-core

Parasitoid wasps such good parents, you go mama, feed those kids, a single mom who works two jobs, who loves her kids and never stops. Y'all praise parents who would kill for their kids but can't handle when they really do it