A few fun facts about (European) Wasps

I made the brilliant discovery last week that this blog is currently the number one result when you run a google image search for ‘European Wasp’! You don’t even need the speech marks or anything!

I do say ‘currently’, however, as I recognise that in such a dynamic and ever changing environment like the internet, another young pup will no doubt soon be along to claim the prize as their own.

Now, while it’s tempting to just bask in the enjoyment of this potentially fleeting moment of worldwide fame, I do feel that if someone has come across my site looking for pictures and information about the European Wasp, then it’s probably going to be pretty frustrating for them if all they get is my witless ramblings.

So in an attempt to live up to the great responsibilities that come with the great power of being the number one destination for an admittedly obscure image search, I’ve decided to collect below some information on the mighty European Wasp (Vespula gemanica).

And yes, I recognise that the search was for pictures and not facts, but hopefully it’ll go some way to making you feel like all this wasn’t a wasted journey.

A few fun facts about (European) Wasps:

1. The European Wasp (Vespula gemanica) shares a nest with others in its species, however they do not form a hive mentality with soldier wasps, or drones, like ants and bees do. Instead, each one cohabits with equal status and rank. Like snowflakes, the markings on every wasp are unique, allowing them to recognise one another as individuals.

2. In European Wasps (Vespula gemanica), as in other Hymenoptera, sexes are significantly genetically different. Females have a diploid (2n) number of chromosomes and come about from fertilized eggs. Males, in contrast, have a haploid (n) number of chromosomes and develop from an unfertilized egg.

3. In contrast to larger flying creatures who famously favour the ‘V’ formation – like the Duck (Anas anatidae) or the Goose (Anser anser) – The European Wasp (Vespula agaonidae), has no flight pattern. Instead it zips around wildly, and when leaving the nest it is common for two or more wasps to collide painfully with one another. In the face.

4. The European Wasp (Vespula maculata) is one of the only insects in all of the animal kingdom that deliberately parts its hair. It does this not just to the hair on its head, but also that down the length of its torso (consisting of the metasoma and mesosoma). It is also the only insect to be able to read newsprint.

5. While it doesn’t produce honey like its half brother the bee, (Bombus terrestris), the European Wasp (Vespula Crabro) can make its own paper pulp from trees, a technique it uses in the construction of its nest. If you believe a nest to have been abandoned by the majority of a colony, it can be burned as an attrative and hypnotic lantern, or innocently given to the neighbours’ children to play with.

6. The European Wasp (Vespula Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner) differs from other species of wasp in that it smells of poppies. Of all the other members of the wasp family, the South Latin (Vespula et cetera) and the American Yellow Jacket (Vespula magnus magnusson) are the only others to have any discernable scent. The first smells of sweet potato, the second of wet concrete.

Feel free to use any of this information in your next school report.