A wasp nest is a tricky business in itself - especially when it's in your own backyard. In order to be able to attack the insects in a targeted manner, it is important to know about them. The most important information about earth wasps: they actually don't exist!
Not many wasp species live in the ground
Earth wasps - a creation of the vernacular
First of all, the so-called earth wasps are not a zoological species term. Rather, it is a common term for species of wasps that nest in the ground. The wasp species that do this are also the most common ones in Central Europe: the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) and the German wasp (Vespula germanica). They belong to the genus of short-headed wasps (Vespula)
To remember:
- Earth wasps no zoological species designation
- Term used to refer to ground-nesting wasp species
- Related: Common and German wasp
Common and German wasp in portrait
common wasp
Look
The common wasp is the smaller of the two "earth wasp species". The worker bees, which you are most likely to meet at the patio table or while strolling through the garden, grow to be 11 to 14 mm long. Another comparatively clear difference from the German wasp is the broader, thicker black horizontal line on its forehead. The abdomen has different appearances, but always has the wasp-typical black and yellow line drawing.
nutrition
Adult wasps feed on sweets - in nature they are therefore out for nectar-containing flowers and plant juices, in human proximity on cakes, open jam jars and fruit juice. The annoying thing: A table that has been discovered and laid again and again will stick in your memory! This can certainly spoil the desire for summer meals on the terrace. Their larvae need a lot of protein and are therefore fed with insect pulp.
nest building
Common wasps like to use existing mouse or mole burrows or piles of stones as nesting sites. However, they are not limited to underground or ground-level quarters - they sometimes also consider roller shutter boxes or roof trusses to be suitable. The designation "earth wasps" therefore only applies to common wasps in certain nesting years! In the cave they found, the animals create a construct of brood cells. They use rotten wood for this, which gives the nest a beige tint.
German wasp
Look
Of course, if the common wasp is the smaller species of ground wasp, the German wasp is the larger one. Their workers reach a length of 12 to 16 millimeters. You can also identify a German wasp most reliably if you look directly in its face: Its characteristic feature is namely three black dots under the thinner, sometimes interrupted line of the forehead plate.
feeding and nest building
When it comes to nutrition and nest building, German wasps do the same as common wasps. Here, too, the adult animals like it sweet, the larvae protein. However, since they tend to use fresher wood for building their nests, their burrows are somewhat darker and more greyish in color than those of the common wasps.