RESCUE! BugBlog

Sickened by stings

If you are allergic to wasp, hornet or yellowjacket stings, you know that it only takes one to cause a life-threatening reaction.

But sometimes, you're not aware of your allergy until it's nearly too late. Take the case of a Puyallup, Washington man who is on a ventilator after getting stung on the Fourth of July. According to his brother, "He's never been allergic to bees (yellowjackets). He's had tons and tons of stings in his whole life. Never had an allergic reaction, ever."

That gentleman is one of five people in western Washington who were treated recently for anaphylactic shock after being stung.

Here's the complete story from KOMO News in Seattle.

Here's a list of steps to take if you're stung, and warning signs that you may be allergic.

 

To the manner born? How a wasp becomes a queen.

How does an ordinary paper wasp become a queen? Does she have royal bloodlines? Is she born with a silver spoon in her mandibles? To answer these burning questions, a group of scientists recently conducted a study of young paper wasp larvae. These scientists learned that social status in the wasp 'queendom' is decided before they become adults.

The secret to which of the little larvae were destined to ascend to the throne, and which would toil as workers? Protein. According to lead researcher James Hunt, the larvae that become queens have high levels of a group of proteins that enable them to survive the winter and reproduce next year, whereas the ones that become workers have low levels of these proteins.

So, the protein-pumped paper wasps become young queens that don't work and eventually leave the nest to reproduce and rule colonies of their own. Those with lower levels of protein forego reproduction and spend the season defending the nest (i.e. stinging) and raising their siblings... not quite as glamorous a calling.

More info: Social status in paper wasps is established early in life; The making of a queen: Road to royalty begins early in paper wasps.

P!nk's Wasp Problem

So singer Pink (or P!nk) has a wasp problem. So what, she's still a rock star. But it bothered her enough that she mentioned it on Twitter this week:

 

Her annoyance at the wasps, paired with her desire not to kill them, led to hundreds if not thousands of tweets from fans concerned about her and wanting to be helpful.

The tweeted responses ranged from the informative...

 

to the funny...

 

to the ridiculous...

 

Wasp whisperer? Um, don't think so.

Surmising that she wanted the problem eliminated in the safest, greenest possible way, I offered this:

 

No word on whether P!nk rushed out to her nearest Wal*Mart to buy a W*H*Y Trap, or whether she tried to look for a wasp whisperer.

Video of the Week: Insect Smackdown!

To end the week, we have a series of videos of wasps, hornets and yellowjackets attacking other insects and a spider!

Here's a hornet attacking a cicada:

Here's the carnage after a yellowjacket mauled some sort of black wasp or fly:

And watch as this wasp attacks a large spider and drags it away:

The insect world is brutal, ain't it?

This is WHY he likes our traps

Happy customer Ron in Lyle, Washington e-mailed us recently to send us photos of our products at work: both the W*H*Y Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets and the RESCUE! Yellowjacket Trap.

 

Time to dump the bodies in this one -- there's no room for more to get in!

 

Side by side, both traps are working wondrously!

 

Thanks, Ron! Anyone else have photos to share? Send them here.

Video of the Week: How to treat a wasp/hornet/yellowjacket sting

I'll be heading out with the rest of our office to our annual Company Picnic in about half an hour. Thankfully, this has always been a sting-free event, thanks to our R&D folks who hang copious amounts of our RESCUE! Yellowjacket Traps -- and now our W*H*Y Trap -- all around the Liberty Lake County Park and the pavillion where we enjoy the potluck meal.

But even with traps in use, there is still a danger of getting stung, and that's why it's good to know the tips contained in this video where a Registered Nurse explains what to do if that happens:

You can also read more "what-to-do-if-you're-stung" info here, and here are some DOs and DON'Ts around wasps, hornets and yellowjackets to lessen the chance of a sting happening.

Video: Mobile home for wasps

So last week, our Marketing Assistant Jonathan noticed a paper wasp buzzing around our Customer Service Rep Susan's car, then going in the crevice of the passenger-side door. Turns out there was an small egg-shaped paper wasp nest in the door that was only visible when opening it. Upon checking out this nest, we found a second one in the car -- behind the rear-view mirror!

In this video, I attempt to show both nests in the car. Adding to the excitement, I get buzzed by a paper wasp about 50 seconds in... she wasn't too happy that I was poking around her house.

Shortly thereafter, our R&D scientists evicted these wasps from their "mobile home".

Wasp sting claims man's life

So sad... a single wasp sting claimed this man's life five years ago. Neither he nor his family knew he was allergic.

The man in a previous post got 200 stings and survived. This man was stung once and died. Being allergic to wasps made all the difference.

200 stings

A UK man accidentally fell onto a bush that contained a large wasp or yellowjacket nest and was stung over 200 times.

The man was rushed to the hospital and is expected to survive.

Video of the Week: The Wasp Woman

We're back with the weekly featured video, and this one is a bit of campy fun. It's an excerpt from the 1959 horror movie "The Wasp Woman".

Here's a short description from imdb.com : "A cosmetics queen develops a 'youth formula' from jelly taken from queen wasps. She fails to anticipate the hoary side effects."

WHY-vangelists share their photos

I caught five yellowjacket queens and one blackjacket queen over the weekend in my W*H*Y Trap. Unfortunately, I can't show you this catch because I forgot to take a photo of it -- it was time to rebait the trap and I was eager to do so to catch the paper wasps I saw flying around.

Thankfully, we have some early WHY-vangelists who have done a better job of documenting what their W*H*Y Trap has caught so far this spring. Take a look...

Pat Pfeifer in Plummer, Idaho had a good early catch of wasps in the top chamber of his W*H*Y Trap (note the bodies that had already sunk to the bottom of the water):

 

This photo shows a trap in Canada -- Creston, BC to be exact. The catch is from late April/early May:

 

Here are some photos showing the top and the bottom of the W*H*Y Trap in Greenacres, Washington:

 

 

Our favorite is still from Stamford, TX -- this shows a catch made back in February!

 

Keep those W*H*Y Trap photos coming, folks!

Soapy wings

If you're using the W*H*Y Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets, here's a helpful hint we've discovered:

When baiting the top chamber, add 1-2 drops of dishwashing liquid to the top chamber. This will coat the insects' wings and make it harder for them to fly once trapped -- which leads to an earlier death... mmmwahahahaha!

Ahem. Happy trapping.

Video of the Week: Yellowjackets, Hornets & Wasps... Oh my!

Our featured video this week comes courtesy of Hal Coleman, entomologist in Atlanta. Hal talks about the differences between wasps, hornets and yellowjackets. The highlight of the video occurs halfway in, when he hoists an extremely large bald-faced hornet nest up near his head.

Wasp weather... and we're catching them!

If the Northwest could string together more than two 70+ degree days in a row, we'd all be very happy. But this week, those two warm spring days were enough to capture a bunch of paper wasp (and some yellowjacket) queens in the WHY Trap. The photos and video below were taken on president Rod Schneidmiller's property.

 

 

Last night, three days after those photos and video were taken, it snowed. Many of the wasps were still alive today, and they huddled together for warmth near the top of the trap:

Video of the Week: This could end badly

That's what I think whenever I see videos on YouTube that likely originated from a conversation along the lines of: "Hey, look! A wasp nest! Let's see what happens when we shoot it with a BB gun/hit it with a baseball bat/pour gasoline on it and light a match!"

Here's one that uses the latter approach, entitled "Fire -- All-purpose pest control". A method used on a wasp nest under a wood deck.

And yes, file this under "Pest Control Hall of Shame".

W*H*Y Wednesday: We catch another wasp!

Just when we thought we knew the 20 species caught in the W*H*Y Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets, we learned this week that we catch another species of Paper Wasp -- bringing the total wasp species to 7 and the entire species count to 21!

Thanks to some data gained in testing in the southern U.S., we've determined that our trap catches Polistes exclamans, also known as the Common Paper Wasp.

This species is 5/8 inches long and displays extensive red coloration on the head, thorax and abdomen. The abdomen has bands of red, black and yellow and one large red and black band toward the top. Queens and female workers have a predominantly red thorax, while males are mostly black. Antenna will be red with a prominent black midsection.

Common Paper Wasps hunt caterpillars to feed nest larvae and feed on sugars and flower nectar.  Workers will rest on the nest at night and during periods of cooler weather.

Common Paper Wasps are not typically aggressive, but will sting if provoked or if they feel their nest is threatened.  Males also exhibit territorial behavior, which is unusual for Paper Wasp species.

The Common Paper Wasp is found in Texas, Oklahoma and Florida; as far north as New Jersey, Indiana and Illinois; and west to Nebraska and Colorado. It is considered an introduced (non-native) species in southern California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Hawaii.

Common Paper Wasp nests resemble the upside-down umbrella shape and open-honeycomb design of other paper wasp species, and are usually found in sheltered locations near human activity-- most  commonly in roof eaves and trees.

Good news if you have this species in your back yard: The W*H*Y Trap from RESCUE! will catch the Common Paper Wasp!

Wasps attack schoolchildren

This is what happens when you throw rocks at a wasp nest, as 30 schoolchildren in Australia learned the hard way last week.

Housing starts down -- for people, not for wasps!

We've been hearing the same news for months: new home construction is down. Reuters reported last week that housing starts in December 2008 were down 33.3% from 2007 and new home building permits were down 36.2%.

Not to be flip about a serious problem facing our economy, but there is one sector of housing that is not likely to be affected by this downturn: the building of wasp, hornet and yellowjacket nests.

These insects will be building heavily this spring, and whether they build in a tree, underground, under the eaves of your house or within its walls, they won't take the time to submit a permit.

There is a way you can stop their building and hand them an eviction notice: by putting out traps in spring when the weather starts to warm up. Use either the RESCUE! Yellowjacket Trap for the yellowjackets, or the RESCUE! W*H*Y Trap to stop the wasps, hornets and yellowjackets. Our traps will catch the queens when they emerge from hibernation to scout nest-building locations.

Don't let them build an addition like this onto your house!

Wasp sting to the chest...

...convinces woman to enlarge her breasts.

I don't make this stuff up; I just report it.

Perhaps this gal might also like to see how she'd look with bee-stung lips.

Video of the Week: Wasps wiggle to the beat

Here's some impressive close-up footage of paper wasps on a nest as they walk around, build, preen and tussle -- to reggae music. Even the larvae in the nest are moving... to the beat, perhaps?

Biker minutes from death after wasp sting

A wasp sting can happen when you least expect it... and the consequences can be dire. Here's a story out of Llandovery in the UK. A 61-year-old woman was out with her husband for a day in the country on their motorcycles. They stopped for lunch, she had a bite of an apple, and was stung on her upper lip by a wasp which had been resting on it. They rode to a nearby house to ask for help. She collapsed from anaphylactic shock shortly thereafter, with her airway tightening. Thankfully the paramedics arrived just in time to revive her.

You can read more here.

Paper wasps communicate Buddhist message?

If people can see the Virgin Mary in a grilled cheese sandwich, then I suppose it shouldn't be surprising that some Buddhists in Rochester, Minnesota believe that paper wasps have built a nest in the shape of a sitting Buddha in a sheltered eave on the outside of a temple.

A monk at the temple suggested that the wasps are trying to communicate a Buddhist message of peace and serenity. Guess he's never been stung by a wasp before.

Here's the original article, which incorrectly refers to the nest as a "beehive", and here's a commentary which points out the humor in the story.

Giant sucking sound

No, it's not U.S. jobs heading south to Mexico. It's a "Wasp Sucking Machine" devised by an individual annoyed by yellowjackets disturbing his lunchtime on a daily basis. He discovered they were entering and exiting through a crevice in the building where he worked. Not content with using a Shop-Vac to remove them, he put together a contraption with a high-powered motor that sucked them out through a hose and into a glass-topped box to show off the catch.

Nine hours of running the machine netted thousands of yellowjackets in the box. Read more and see the photos here.

WHY-vangelist in Texas inundated with paper wasps

Brenda in West Texas is anxious to try out the new W*H*Y Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets early next year. She just wrote to us and told us her situation:

"We live in West Texas and are inundated with paper wasps. When I walk out the front door, I take a fly swatter with me so I can fight my way off of the porch. In the summer, they dive bomb us when we are in the pool. We go through cases and cases of Wasp spray each summer. Those darn things can get inside the home through the smallest crevice and yesterday we had 25 in our living room when we returned home. Needless to say, we are very anxious to purchase a case of WHY traps and have them out in early spring so we can catch the queens."

We're glad to have Brenda as another WHY-vangelist and I'm offering her an "I know WHY" t-shirt to thank her.

How can you become a WHY-vangelist? By telling us on our web site where you are, and why you need the W*H*Y Trap. Here's the direct link: Tell us WHY.

And you can see where other WHY-vangelists are located and what they have said here.

Video of the Week: Paper Wasp nest under construction

It's rather fascinating to watch a wasp, hornet or yellowjacket nest being built, and we've found a number of videos on YouTube that show the building process. The person who filmed today's featured video had an excellent vantage point right outside his living room window, so you can get a good look at the unique rust/gold/black coloration and thin, segmented body of the Polistes fuscatus Paper Wasps that are constructing the nest.

W*H*Y Wednesday: The Red Wasp, Part 2

Yes, we missed our post yesterday and it's actually Thursday, but we like alliteration here at the BugBlog.

Today's featured insect is the second of two Red Wasps caught in the W*H*Y Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets: Polistes perplexus.

Like the P. carolina Red Wasp, P. Perplexus is known for its overall ferruginous (rusty red) coloration, but with more black markings on the thorax. At nearly 1 inch in length, it's large in comparison to other Paper Wasps.

As for where P. perplexus is found, I can't resist linking it to the recent election. This Red Wasp is found in many of the Southeastern "Red" states that John McCain won... plus the surrounding "Blue" states of Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Illinois... okay, so it's not a perfect analogy. Here's the map with the highlighted Red Wasp states:

 

Habits: Red Wasp adult workers will feed on sugary nectar and collect live prey to feed nest larvae. Caterpillars appear to be a preferred food source. Red wasps have also been known to attack cicadas.

Red Wasp nests: Red Wasps create nests from chewed-up wood and live plant fibers. Their nests are large compared to other Paper Wasps, resembling an upside-down umbrella with exposed octagonal cells. P. perplexus is more likely to nest in sheltered natural settings such as hollow trees and wooden structures. These Red Wasps are also known to build nests inside warehouses.

Nature toward humans: Like many Paper Wasp species, Red Wasps are typically docile, but will become aggressive when provoked or when the nest is disturbed. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Red Wasp stings feel more painful than stings from other Paper Wasp species.

Good news for people in Red Wasp country: The forthcoming W*H*Y Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets from RESCUE! will catch these wasps!

Folks in Tampa, FL are buzzing...

... about a monster yellowjacket nest found on the back of a homeowner's garage in Polk County. The thing is 3 feet high and 6 feet long, and teeming with an estimated 5,000 yellowjackets.

The link from Fox 13 in Tampa contains video that is worth watching.

The yellowjackets got a little creative in building,as the nest has unusual "tendrils" growing out from it.

Across the pond, folks in Scotland also had a recent yellowjacket wasp scare. A museum in Glasgow, the People's Palace, had to close temporarily because of a wasp nest on the top floor which caused two staffers to be stung.

W*H*Y Wednesday: The Red Wasp, Part 1

Today's featured species is the Red Wasp, Polistes carolina. This is one of two red wasps caught in the new W*H*Y Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets.

Red Wasps are named for their overall rusty red coloration. They are rather large, at around 1 inch in length.

P. carolina Red Wasps are found primarily in the Southeastern part of the United States, as highlighted on this map illustration:

 

Habits: Red Wasp adult workers feed on sugary nectar and collect live prey to feed nest larvae. Caterpillars appear to be a preferred food source. Red Wasps have also been known to attack cicadas.

Red Wasp Nests: Red Wasp species are known to have some of the largest nests among Paper Wasps. Queens begin forming nests from wood and live plant fibers in the spring. Like other Paper Wasp species, Red Wasps create nests resembling an upside-down umbrella and exposed octagonal cells.

The P. carolina Red Wasp usually chooses exposed habitats for nesting, especially under roof eaves and in old tires.

Nature toward humans: Like many Paper Wasp species, Red Wasps are typically docile, but will become aggressive when provoked or when the nest is disturbed. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Red Wasp stings feel more painful than stings from other Paper Wasp species.

Good news for those who have this species in their backyard: the new W*H*Y Trap for Wasps, Hornets & Yellowjackets will catch Red Wasps!

Good news, men!

In case you were wondering... Swiss scientists have found that wasp stings do not cause male infertility.

W*H*Y Wednesday: Yet another Paper Wasp

This Wednesday's featured insect is yet another Paper Wasp species: Polistes metricus.

This wasp's appearance is a deep reddish-brown with black lines on the thorax, a darker brownish-black on the abdomen, and golden legs. Females have a reddish-brown face, while males have a golden yellow face.

Paper Wasp Habits: P. metricus workers can be seen foraging for protein -- most often caterpillars -- to feed nest larvae. In addition to protein, Paper Wasps will seek nectar and other sweet liquids for their own sustenance.

Habitat: P. metricus Paper Wasps are found in the highlighted area of the map below:

Paper Wasp Nests: Known to nest in both exposed and sheltered settings, P. metricus Paper Wasp nests are usually found under roof eaves and inside shrubs and trees. Like most species of Paper Wasps, P. metricus creates a nest in the shape of an upside-down umbrella with exposed octagonal brood cells.   

Nature toward humans: Unless disturbed or agitated, P. metricus Paper Wasps will not exhibit aggressive behavior toward humans. However, caution should be used around nest sites.

On a personal note, I think this is the type of wasp that flew in my ear when I was 7 -- a terrifying episode in my young life. I remember that its coloration was dark brown, and I lived in a location (Pennsylvania) where these wasps were found. The wasp never did sting me... it just hung out in my ear canal long enough that we had to go to the hospital, where they simply flushed it out with water.