Wednesday, October 14, 2009

German (European) WASPS In the Garden



You would think that with all the flowers I have in my garden that I would pay attention to where all of the pollinators come from. Pollinators in the form of bees that so happily buzz around the flowers in the garden. The bees are as much a part of the fabric of my garden as the birds and the butterflies and flowers themselves but I never really thought of where they came from. I always just assumed they came from 'somewhere else'. Well, no longer will I assume this as I now know I have my very own beehive right here in the garden. Actually under a garden. See the nest in the above picture? In case you can't see it well, here is a closer look below. Just look at all the types of bees in this nest. Most people know there are different classes of bees in a nest; I seem to remember that from somewhere along the way. You generally have the foragers who bring back the nectar to the nest, the queen, the queen's attendants, the drones, and the nursery workers. I am not sure of all the classes but take my word for it there are different types of bees in each nest even though all the bees are of the same species. I had never seen bees in a nest so close up and personal before.

From In the Garden
Much to the chagrin of the both the bees and myself I can now say I've seen a bee's nest up close and personal in the wild. I came upon this fairly large nest quite by accident. The bees did not like my close up inspection of their nest but first let me explain how I came upon it. Mr. Fix-it and I are having some problem trees taken out (more on them later) and needed to move some of his many cars around in order to accommodate the tree trimmer. Since we were busy clearing out some areas of the garden I took advantage of the situation in order to remove my gooseberries and the garden they were residing in. That was an inopportune time (is there any other time to run into bees?) for the bees and the beginning of the problem with the bees, me and BJ.

From In the Garden
I had to dig a very large pile of good soil out of the garden and redistribute it to another area of the garden in a new woodland garden area. In order to move the pile of soil I had to remove some railroad ties. I kept noticing a bunch of bees hovering around an area of soil in the area one of the railroad ties had resided. I had no idea what I would find when I dug my shovel into the soil to redistribute it but was not liking the look of the bees. All I can say is I was happy these are pollinating bees and not the kind of bees that are aggressive or I would've been posting a different kind of post today.

From In the Garden

Don't get me wrong, all bees will attack if their nest is threatened. These bees did come after me but not in such a way that I could not quickly get away so they could calm down. BJ was not so lucky. Dogs are not smart at all. BJ thinks he has to be right under my feet all the time and could not understand what all the bugs were that were buzzzzzing around him. Why is it dogs try to eat bees and other flying insects? Like that will fix the problem for some reason. BJ quickly found out the hard way that he should not try to eat bees! Poor thing was stung. I decided that for his safety he should be locked up inside the house while I continued to work.

From In the Garden

The bee's nest was really not an issue for me as bees are good. Very good, and I welcome them in the garden. But in order for Mr. Fix-it to be able to park his car in the new area the soil had to be removed. This unfortunately meant the bees were in the way and they suffered some damage to their nest. But don't worry, they were not dissuaded from their tasks in the colony and kept right on working to put the nest back together. I finally was able to remove most of the dirt and to rake the rest of it into a manageable grade without disturbing the bees too much more and I suffered no stings. The bees are still safely underground in the far back area-where I'd like to forget they are located....

in the garden....

I normally don't do the large photos but wanted you all to see these bees up close. They were simply awesome to see in the garden. While the pictures do not show their movement they were quite busy putting their nest back together while I snapped some pictures. The white things in the honeycomb are immature bees. This seemed to be their main concern. I was awed by the many different types of bees in this one nest. I have no idea what their stations are but did know the flying types were the ones that would sting! I tried to steer clear of them.

P.S. I know I am not allergic to bee stings since I have been stung many times in the past. If you are allergic or not sure if you are allergic to bee stings you should steer clear of all bee nests. Do not attempt to photograph them or dig around them.

Thanks to everyone's comments I have tentatively identified these 'bees' as German Wasps Polistes germanica. I sure am glad I did not know they were wasps while I was gardening near them. You live and learn as is the case with me today. Nonetheless I will leave the wasps be. Some sources say they are beneficial and some say they are pests. They gather caterpillars and small insects to feed to their larva. They also secrete a chemical that keeps ants away from their nests. Those two things might be a good thing here but honestly I don't want them around. I have also read they nest inside of homes and we've had issues with this very thing in the past.

What made me think they were bees was the fact the flyers are very small and look like the bees I see flying by the flowers, but they cannot be the same. The German wasps can be identified by the three yellow dots on their face and black antennae. There are apparently many queens in the nest which can explain the different looking wasps found here, but only one queen lays the eggs. Thanks for all of your help in identifying these wasps. Hopefully the pictures can help others to learn about these wasps so they don't confuse them with bees:)

As an aside, if you have not yet seen the movie
'Gran Torino' it is a must see movie that Mr. Fix-it and I have watched twice already. It is not a family movie perse and it does have grown up content in it, but it is the best movie we've seen in a very long time so I thought I'd mention it.

33 comments:

  1. Tina, are these wasps or bees? You all must have a very different kind of bee than us. Poor BJ, he'll know next time.

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  2. I am glad you said they are not the aggressive bees, most the ground 'bees' in our area are the aggressive ones. My dog Newton likes to snap at bees and flies and other things on the wing...though he does leave butterflies alone. Luckily he has not been stung. Poor BJ.

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  3. Oh poor BJ! I would think the mouth a very sad place to be stung! We have all those bees here Tina, but I never realized they were from the same nest. The largest ones are really visible right now and I am a little afraid of them, haven't really seen them before. You are brave and kind to carefully rake the area back for their use. Do be careful out there! :-)
    Frances

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  4. This is so interesting Tina! I remember a few summers ago I saw no bees and was really concerned. I heard they got a disease and many, many died. I even talked to bee keepers about the problem. The bees were back the next summer, and have been ever since. Ever since that little scare, I am always happy to see out pollinating friends. But...I never knew they nested underground! Great post!!
    Have a good day! They say the sun will come out here today--haven't seen it in quite a while! :)

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  5. We had a beagle that would eat the bees when she could. I'm not sure why! I think your bees might be yellowjackets, I'm not 100% sure.

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  6. I'm pretty sure what you have there are yellow jackets, which look like bees but are a type of wasp. They're not the good pollinating bees. I'm no expert, but my father in law keeps honey bee hives. I've seen them closer up than I ever wanted to. The honey bees and the the others I've photographed in my flowers all have fuzzy parts that pick up the pollen and spread it. Some even have some kind of pollen baskets in their legs for gather it to take back to their nests.

    I have yellow jackets, too. I haven't seen them in the flowers. I think they're scavengers. One swooped right down to eat a grub seconds after I squished it. Yesterday, there was a whole pile of them eating an apple core in a new compost heap. I'm going back to always burying the scraps, even if it does take a few extra minutes. They are enough of a nuisance without inviting more of them.

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  7. One more thing... While I never want to see them in person, those are very awesome pictures you've got. :)

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  8. Tina, those look like European wasps. They do nest underground.

    Poor dog, I don't think they can tell the difference between annoying flies and bees.
    Marnie

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  9. Wow, Tina, those are some awesome pics. I would not venture that close. It would have to be a zoom lens for sure. Poor BJ hope he's fine.
    From all I've heard that sure looks like what we call Yellow Jackets. Not to be messed with at the nest. Old story is "if they nest underground it is going to be a very cold winter".
    I hope all have a very lovely day.

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  10. Thanks everyone for your help in identifying the wasps. I am feeling a bit sheepish because even though I DID try to identify these I only looked at bees. A bit silly to play around wasps though in my defense, the day was cool so they were sluggish. Whew!!! I would never have messed with them had I known they were wasps but the garden did have to be fixed and is done now. I believe they are German wasps and added that info to the post. Like Evolving Gardener said they do eat grubs and caterpillars. A neat tidbit and they can eat all they want around here as long as they do not sting me or the dogs:)

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  11. WOW! I have never seen an underground nest from the inside! They do look like wasps, not sure what kind. Usually wasps have a segmented body with a tiny waist, like these do. I have read that honey bees need bare earth to build their underground nests. You're so lucky you didn't get stung, the wasps must have been dazed from the cool weather!

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  12. Tina, I hope they will stay away from your house and you! And from your dogs, too! Thank you for posting big pictures!Amazing!

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  13. Get out of town! Wasps are mean!! So, glad you were not stung and you locked the dog up for his protection. My husband has weed wacked over a yellow jacket nest 3 times this summer. He still continues to fight with two nests in the edge of our backwoods next to the basketball goal...great post and I loved seeing the wasps up close.

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  14. You were lucky with those wasps – they can be vicious at this time of year. Poor BJ! Fantastic photos.

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  15. Awesome photos. Very interesting infor but poor BJ.

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  16. Poor Bj. hope he is ok. I assume he will stay away in the future?
    Now I know what to look for when I see wasps. Thanks for the GREAT info, Tina.
    The big pictures were good this time because now I can identify the wasps I have seen buzzing around here.
    Rosey

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  17. Great pictures Tina! The differences between those wasps makes me want to look up the variation between classes -- they don't even look like the same species, even though they are. I'm glad they weren't Yellow Jackets!

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  18. Tina, I am so glad they weren't angry wasps! I know that bees nest underground and I do see interesting little holes in the dirt~~but am so glad not to have encountered wasps in this great a number like you have! It wasn't until I began blogging and started googling everything that the phrase "she had a wasp waist" begin to make sense! They have that small segmented body part that sure looks like a waist!

    Take care out there...it's a jungle.
    gail

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  19. at least they aren't yellow jackets. you would have known right away!

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  20. Great shots, Tina. Bee societies are so complex. I find them fascinating to watch.

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  21. I feel so bad for BJ and glad you didn't get stung. My little Dachshund got stung trying to eat one to many bees once and her poor little mouth was all swollen out of shape.
    I am so deathly afraid of bees of any kind so stay away from them unless they try to start a hive in my greenhouse which they do occassionally and Bob ends that. Then they build in his boat. HA! Trust me they have plenty of places to build their hives around here without getting in my way. Bob has worse reactions each time he gets stung now. I think it's time for him to start carrying a kit!

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  22. Those are some great pictures. I've heard of wasps/bees that have nests in the ground and actually have seen bees crawl into little holes in parts of my yard. I'm glad you didn't get stung! Hope BJ is recovered!

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  23. Thanks for that update, Tina. The big ones did look so much like wasps and we have those queens all over here this year, never seen them before but was stung by one of the smaller than queen but larger than the others when I tried to move a gourd birdhouse and didn't know they had taken up residence. It hurt more than usual, ice helps but ouch. So are they good or bad? Not that we would do anything to kill them unless they got inside the house, then it's war!
    Frances

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  24. I must confess that I quickly scrolled over the wasp photos!

    We have seen Gran Torino and loved the movie! Good recommendation!

    Cameron

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  25. Hi Frances, I was just shutting down the computer when I saw your comment. I can't say for sure if they are good or bad. As long as they don't bother me and stay out of my house I say they are in the middle and I won't bother them. The entire nest dies out each winter but the queen overwinters to start again next year so they do hang around forever. Some sources say bad some say so so. I checked the nest today and can't see any sign of them. They are fascinating as I've been investigating them all day. I don't personally want them around here.

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  26. Tina, If you are stung by a wasp you don't forget it. I've never been stung by a bee but I have been by a paper wasp. They are fascinating but are aware of you at every moment, responding to noise also and will attack a person just walking near, it feels like glass and really hurts for quite some time. Worst yet...when a bee stings it dies from removal of the stinger, a wasp can do it as many times as it likes. Zack stepped on a bramble one year that had a paper nest dangling from the end of it, he ran down the hill stripping his clothes and off in 30 yards he was bit 5 times.
    I'm with Cameron, the pictures were wonderfully close and perfect in everyway, but gave me the hee-bee jee-bees! Pun intended!

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  27. Tina, I'm glad you found out what those critters were. I can't be around them. Now I know oldest ggs can't either.
    Young'un & I watched Gran Torina the other night. I agree it's good.

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  28. Ewwww! I kinda thought they were wasps and not honey bees for the same reasons people said before me. The larger ones made me itchy all over! LOL -Jackie

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  29. Poor BJ! Heidi does the same thing. I hope she doesn't encounter a bee or wasp.

    I have mixed feelings about wasps, too. They love my white flowers, and since they eat caterpillars, I'm wondering if I should stop growing white flowers. They especially love my mountain mint, which I also love, and it would be hard to give it up.

    I'm glad you weren't stung. I would have been doing the same thing you did.

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  30. Totally Awesome Pictures Tina! I was thinking they looked more like a wasp then a bee. Now we know the Rest of the Story! As a child, we would stick long blades of grass into holes in the ground and make the wasps come out angry at us. We kids thought that was so fun to do and luckily, we never were stung by them when playing that childish game. Now I would never do such a thing knowing how their sting feels! The sting hurts like the dickens. Saint was once allergic of them and had to carry a needle with him in case of sting. But he has outgrown that as he was stung twice this summer with no effects but a huge whelp and pain for a few days… Our neighbors now have a bee box and I have seen the honey bees in our yard this year. In Texas they have the Killer Bees which are an aggressive type bee. I think they are in this area too but we don’t hear much about them like we did in Texas…

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  31. I think you are very gutsy, you moved a wasp's nest! Glad you didn't get stung. I would have just abandoned that area of the yard. I hope poor BJ recovered okay. I always worry about that, one of my dogs is a fly catcher, I keep hoping he won't come across bees or wasps. Even though they make me nervous, it's fascinating to get such a close up look at them.

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  32. I'm glad you didn't get stung Tina, and hope BJ is feeling much better. I wish I was better at ID'ing insects in general. I'm always amazed at how knowledgeable some people are on different varieties of bees and wasps.

    I've been stung by wasps many times, most often by those nesting in decaying wood in clients' gardens. It's quite a searing, shocking pain, and I sure can empathize with BJ.

    George goes after wasps in spite of my efforts to dissuade him. Fortunately they're usually faster than he is, he rarely catches them, and they even more rarely sting him.

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