• Zippy@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      How important do you think they are? I hate mosquitoes but I think they are critical. Wasps on the otherhand don’t seem to be a big part of the food chain but make life hell for most large animals.

      To be clear, I don’t think wiping out any nuisance bug is good as the consequences typically accumulate down the food chain but some I suspect may have far less impact.

      • Sinupret@feddit.de
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        1 year ago

        Afaik, their most important role is pest control because they eat tons of other insects. They are also very important pollinators. IIrc, third most important after flies and wild bees(not honey bees).

        I hate them too, but they are a critical part of our ecosystem.

  • currawong@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    They’re cool af. Look at those colours! And the ergonomics.

    I leave water bowls for them during summer.

    They’re not exactly friendly but when you observe them enough you can judge if you’re annoying them and should gtfo. Most of the time they just mind their own business.

    • Beemo Dinosaurierfuß@feddit.de
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      1 year ago

      That’s pretty dope.

      I just think many humans don’t grasp the concept that we can also piss something else off and should gtfo out of their area.

      Especially since we make more and more parts of this planet our areas.

    • Zippy@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Other than mosquitoes, wasps are the only other bug I know that will seek you out because they need protein and have the means to take it from you. Most other bugs will try and avoid you.

      They are doubly bad in that they can make life hell for larger wildlife. They are relentless and result in pain and irritation akin to torture. I see them on deer and horses often where they will focus on their ears with multiple wasps taking bites in the same location.

      I see the necessity of every bug in a ecosystem that evolved over millions of years but that is the one and only bug that I think has less impact IMO while really making a hard existence even more difficult. I do nothing to help them exsist.

    • Nightwatch Admin@feddit.nl
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      1 year ago

      I agree, I am scared shitless of wasps, but I’ve started looking at them and now I can a) see whether it actually is a wasp, not a funky bee or smart fly, that helps. Then indeed, leave them to their business and they will generally leave you aline as well. It’s also important which phase of their life it is, they generally get more aggressive later in the year.
      Still am scared shitless but I love them too <3

  • neptune@dmv.social
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    1 year ago

    White, Anglo Saxon protestants are fine. I usually try to associate with atheists, agnostics, or the generally unchurched, but you do you, right?

    • TheRealKuni@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Always good to have diversity after all, and WASPs are part of that diversity! (Wait until they learn that, they’ll lose their minds!)

  • TALL421
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    1 year ago

    Proof that god doesn’t exist. Proof that if I’m wrong and god does exist, he’s a fucking asshole not worthy of any worship.

  • kat_angstrom@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Yellowjackets are annoying, but I got a colony of 5-banded Wasps that conglomerate on my trees every late summer- hundreds of males just hanging out, showing off their sweet bods while the ladies fly by perusing selections for mating. They’re chill AF and not a pain.

    But I mean, there are over a hundred thousand wasp species, and Yellowjackets are what most people think of when you say “wasp”, but as annoying as they are, don’t let them color your opinions on the otherd

  • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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    1 year ago

    They get an unfairly bad rap because some of them have the audacity to threaten humans right back. They’re actually damn important species for all kinds of ecosystem processes that support other species less offensive to our sanitised, idealised view of nature.

    • intensely_human@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Some of them also have larvae that are genetically programmed to eat their hosts’ vital organs last, to ensure the food source doesn’t rot.

      It’s not precisely evil, but it’s close. It’s a deliberate, if not conscious, move by evolution to use consciousness as a meat preservative.

      • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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        1 year ago

        Evolution does be like that. The parasitoid wasps are some of the most diverse and ecologically important types, actually, and they don’t sting.

        To be clear, I think nature is overrated. I might have come across as a back-to-the-woods guy in that first comment but I’m not. I just don’t think wasp hate in particular is motivated by anything wholesome or educated.

    • miss_brainfart@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      I read that they are extremely near-sighted, which is why they like to inspect everything and everyone up close, giving the impression that they want to deliberately annoy you.

      But deliberate or not, I still want to eat in peace.

      Still though, fascinating creatures, I enjoy watching them as much as I enjoy watching any other insect bugger about.

      Like the hornets who hunt them.

  • Squirrel@thelemmy.club
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    1 year ago

    I’ve got a bunch of red wasps around my house, and they’re assholes. They’re okay most of the time, unless you get too close. Every so often, though, they will be aggressive as hell, attacking you if you’re within maybe 20 feet.

  • emptyother@programming.dev
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    1 year ago

    I would love them if they had a concept of personal space, or a survival instinct that told them not to get up in someone biggers face.

    As I’ve aged, I’ve lost the ability to hear them too, so now they love to sneak up on me.

  • Deebster@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    I like them! They’ve got a great style and they’re perfectly chill when people aren’t trying to swat them. I always let them land on my hand so I can look at them.

    You can shoo them away from food a few times and they’ll generally just go elsewhere.

    • Downcount@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Since I was stung three times out of nowhere, one time just by sitting around, not moving at all: Nope, the moment they try landing on me I freak out.

          • Deebster@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            approach: the method used or steps taken in setting about a task, problem, etc

            Yeah, I am using that word right! British humour is dry, btw.