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Wasps won’t attack you for the lolz just put something for them to eat and focus on away from you or a repeller

All of them are needed bumblebees and honey bees are just the fancy types promoted by greenwashing companies

Oh and there are waaaay more species, like those mimicking wasps but completely harmless, those living in wood structures or in stones, even spiders looking like wasps. All of them are wonderful useful and just want to live their life

Edit: fuck invasive species tho (even if it’s maybe too late and global warming won’t help) like Asian hornets, they kill colonies and should be reported

Edit 2, pasting here too for visibility as I think more people should try to understand wasps and why they react to us (they aren’t necessarily invading our space sometimes we are too); also I’m no expert so please let me know if my info is outdated or wrong:

They perceive threat very differently than we do, might be vibrations, sweat and bright clothes might tel them you could be food, and they also tend to be more “agressive” for various reasons

Also different types of wasps might have different threshold of aggresivity; Two wasps can experience the same stimulus (like you waving your hand), but only the one with the aggressive phenotype will choose to sting.

Experience Matters: Wasps that have previously been involved in nest defense „prime“ themselves for future conflict. Their Sting Extension Reflex (SER) becomes more sensitive. If you meet a wasp that has spent the last week defending its nest from a bird or a lawnmower, it is already „on edge“ and far more likely to sting you „randomly“ than a young forager. There are also forager and asps amd guard wasps, later being wired to protect the first

“Other studies (such as those by Lester et al.) explain the „random“ spike in aggression during late August and September. • Social Collapse: At the end of the season, the queen stops laying eggs. The worker wasps no longer have larvae to feed (which usually provide the workers with a sugary spit as a reward). • Starvation: Suddenly, thousands of worker wasps are „unemployed“ and „hungry.“ They become desperate for sugar (your soda or fruit), and their hunger makes them irritable and much more likely to perceive a human move as a threat to their food source.”

And from another one: “A sting feels random because humans often cannot perceive the triggers that wasps react to: • Alarm Pheromones: If a wasp is swatted or crushed, it releases a chemical „alarm.“ Other wasps in the area (even those that didn’t see you) will suddenly become hyper-aggressive. You might walk into a „cloud“ of alarm pheromones left by a wasp someone else swatted ten minutes ago. • Vibrations: Wasps are incredibly sensitive to ground vibrations. A „random“ sting while walking on grass often happens because you stepped near a hidden underground Vespula vulgaris nest, triggering a defense response before you even saw a single insect. • Visual Contrast: Research shows wasps are triggered by dark, moving shapes and high-contrast patterns (which look like predators like bears or badgers). If you are wearing a dark shirt and move quickly, you are tickling an evolutionary „predator alarm“ in their brain.”

It’s really super interesting and the more you understand how they work the chiller you might be around wasps

Tl;dr and sources (fed them to ai because it’s Sunday but I think it got it all right):

1. The Primary Study (Individual Phenotypes & Age)
Source: Santoro, D., Hartley, S., & Lester, P. J. (2015). „The stinging response of the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris): plasticity and variation in individual aggressiveness.“ Insectes Sociaux, 62(4), 455–463.

• Key Finding: This is the study you shared. It demonstrates that individual wasps have „consistent differences“ in their aggression thresholds. Some are naturally „docile“ while others are „extremely aggressive.“ It also identifies that older wasps have a more sensitive Sting Extension Reflex (SER), meaning they are more „primed“ to sting than younger foragers.

2. Late Summer Aggression & Trophallaxis (The „Sugar“ Crisis)
Source: Lester, P. J. (2018). The Vulgar Wasp: The Story of a West Coast Invader and What It Can Tell Us about Our Changing World. Victoria University Press.

• Key Finding: Professor Phil Lester (co-author of the Santoro study) explains the „social collapse“ of wasp colonies in late summer. When the queen stops laying eggs, the workers lose their source of sugary saliva (trophallaxis) from the larvae. This makes them hungry, desperate for sugar, and significantly more irritable, leading to increased conflict with humans.

• Additional Context: This is also supported by Seirian Sumner’s research and public outreach (e.g., University College London, 2022), explaining why wasps become a nuisance at picnics specifically in August and September.

3. Colony-Level Aggression Consistency
Source: Detoni, M., Johnson, S. L., Adams, C. I., Bengston, S., & Jandt, J. M. (2020). „Vespula wasps show consistent differences in colony-level aggression over time and across contexts.“ Insectes Sociaux, 67, 301–311.

• Key Finding: This research shows that aggression isn’t just an individual trait but a colony-level one. Some entire nests are „hotter“ (more aggressive) than others, and this aggression level remains consistent regardless of how often the nest is disturbed.

4. Alarm Pheromones (The „Invisible“ Trigger)
Source: Bruschini, C., Cervo, R., & Turillazzi, S. (2010). „Group response to alarm pheromones in social wasps.“ Ethology Ecology & Evolution, 22(3), 267–275.

• Key Finding: This study quantifies how wasps react to alarm pheromones. It explains why a person might be „randomly“ targeted: if a wasp is swatted or crushed, it marks the „attacker“ (or the area) with a chemical signature that recruits other wasps to attack even if those new wasps were not originally provoked.

5. Visual and Vibrational Triggers
Source: Bruschini, C., et al. (2008). „Defensive responses to visual and vibrational stimulations in colonies of the social wasp Polistes dominulus.“ Italian Journal of Zoology, 75(4), 337–343.

• Key Finding: This study identifies that wasps are particularly triggered by a combination of vibration (like footsteps or lawnmowers) and visual contrast (dark colors or rapid movement). It proves that wasps perceive these stimuli as high-priority threats, often attacking before a human is even aware a nest is nearby.

6. Role Specialization (Guards vs. Foragers)
Source: O’Donnell, S. (2006). „The evolution of the social wasps.“ Oxford University Press (and associated papers on labor division).

• Key Finding: Research into the „division of labor“ shows that wasps assigned as „guards“ or „defenders“ have a much lower threshold for stinging than „foragers.“ Getting stung „randomly“ while walking across a yard often means you crossed the invisible defensive perimeter of a guard wasp.

From an evolutionary perspective bees are just wasps that evolved from eating pollen-eating insects to eating pollen itself – and then becoming generalists.

And I doubt yellowjacket wasps take glee in stinging you.

Il mitico bombo

Wasps are important in the ecosystem and should be respected too! ❤️

When I was 6-7 years old I was dead scared of bees and wasps because I’m allergic to them.

That one summer day a wasp landed on my arm, I was paralyzed and just looked at my mother who said „Don’t worry, if you don’t move too much it won’t sting you“.

3 seconds later it stung me and went away, leaving me with a forearm the size of a football.

Fuck wasps, don’t care about their importance for the ecosystem, since that day it’s ON SIGHT.