The New Kids on The Block
Who remembers that irritating American imported pop boyband NKOTB or rather New Kids On The Block? Anyone or it is just me? Either way, this blog has absolutely nothing to do with annoying boybands, American or English but, its all about new pests that are appearing …. on the block.
I have been to treat a hornets nest at a house in Wokingham; nothing unusual about that but they were showing me photos of a nest that they had found on their bedrooms curtains which had literally sprung up overnight.
To be honest, it wasn’t a great photo, but you could clearly see the internal honeycomb structure that forms a wasp nest and this was without an outer sheath: European paper wasps build like this and sure enough, on the honeycomb were four smallish, yellow wasps. It seems that we now have yet another species of wasp to contend with.
Where does the European Paper Wasp come from?
The European Paper Wasp or Polistes dominula in this case to give it the correct clever pronunciation is a wasp which you’re more likely to bump into in a bar on the island of Crete, they’ve been recorded as living in the UK since 2009 when they were first discovered and there are in fact, four different species of paper wasp now resident in the UK; the dominula being the most common one especially in the South East of England.
Given the recent spell of hot weather that came up from Spain and North Africa, I would imagine it’s extremely easy to find that small insects can ride the winds which may explain why we’re seeing them here now. The school of thought for the earlier appearances are that the insects stowed away in goods that are freighted in.
However, as we are seeing overall temperatures rising, it may well be that the spread of paper wasps is in fact as a consequence of global warming and something that we’ll see a lot more of in the coming years.
Bright orange antenna depict the European Paper Wasp
What is the European Paper Wasp?
Just like the other species of social wasps, we call them social, but they are anything but! They build smaller nests than our common species, but they have an unique characteristic which is absent in the other types of wasps, and this is, rather than a single Queen wasp ruling the colony, paper wasps have “foundresses” or, multiple Queens.
One or more foundresses start the colony and the dominant Queen is the one that lays the most eggs, if anything happens to her, another subordinate female becomes the dominant and so the colonies existence is guaranteed; this doesn’t happen with other types, so the paper wasp is set to become a potential problem in the Reading area in the future.
Another feature of these wasps is that unlike our familiar species that never return to an old nest, the paper wasp is happy to occupy an old nest and these have been recorded as being in use for several years, without having to forage for building materials, there is more time to collect insects and so increase wasp population faster than the others.
What does a paper wasp nest look like?
The other species of wasp; we should just call them “the others” for short, build large round, sheath covered nests. The working part of the nest is the honeycomb section which lays in the horizontal plane with the cell openings facing downwards, these come in a grey or cream colour which denotes where the wood pulp has come from.
Cream being from rotten wood and this indicates the residents are the common wasp, grey from fences, garden furniture and any non-rotten wood such as cladding etc. Inside a grey nest you may find the Saxon wasp or the German wasp, which is in my opinion, the most aggressive. All wasps can react aggressively when the colony is attacked but these one’s go absolutely nuts.
The paper wasp doesn’t bother with that outer sheath, it just builds the honeycomb which it attaches to the underside of branches and building features such as soffits, protruding beams and in the Wokingham case, the bedroom curtains!
Like all wasps, the sting from the European Paper Wasp is going to be a painful event which will lead to swelling, itching and discomfort, as we see hotter summers in Reading, I have noticed that the nests tend to get larger and on those hot, sunny days, the wasps react much more aggressively than cooler, cloudier days.
When treating a wasp nest I have the choice of a protective jacket or a full length suit to keep me safe, you have neither. With the definite risk of a sting and the lesser but more serious risk of anaphylaxis, which can prove fatal, why take the risk with a DIY treatment?
If you find yourself with a wasp nest in or around your property its best to callout a professional and let them deal with it, its just not worth the hassle or the risk.
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