While sitting out in my back yard enjoying the view, I noticed that some wasps were darting in and out of the choko tree, and that the same wasps were also moving in and around the bananas in the banana circle. I wandered over to get a closer look. They were not aggressive, just doing their own thing, I could get quite close and they ignored me, which I was fine with! They were moving around quite a bit but I was eventually able to take a photo which I could use to identify them. I guess you have gathered from the title of this article that they were: paper wasps (Polistes humilis).
We go back a long way, paper wasps and I. They have been in and around the house and yard for as long as we have been here. Of course, our relationship has been somewhat fraught, I have been on the receiving end of their ire on a number of occasions, and they have been on the receiving end of mine! Particularly when the kids were younger. It is a telling thing for humans when you google ‘paper wasps’ and the first half a dozen responses are - “what paper wasps look like and how to get rid of them”.
But is this fair?
After seeing them wandering around the back yard (much like myself) I decided to look into them a bit more deeply.
I think wasps in general get a bad rap because they can (and sometimes do) sting you multiple times, unlike bees which are a one-shot thing. It turns out, though, that paper wasps are not aggressive like European wasps and only get a bit touchy if they feel the nest is in danger. To be sure, most of my problems have been when I didn’t realise a wasp was there and I got too close to an unseen nest.
The nest - pre-evacuated and therefore safe (for us!)
While they do have an intrinsic right to exist as they are, they also do actually contribute to our suburban ecosystem as well. They do this by providing two services –
1. The adults feed on nectar and by so doing can provide pollination for nectar producing plants including natives like Banksia, Callistemon and Melaleuca; fruit trees like nectarines, apricots, plums, pears and citrus and herbs like rosemary, lavender, sage and basil.
2. The adults also collect caterpillars to feed their young on, including the annoying pest caterpillars that attack your veggies.
They are a natural part of the Australian environment and can be found all over Australia (except Tassie, sorry Tassie!). When you find them in your garden or around your house, unless they are in a high traffic area that is likely to result in stings, leave them alone. If you don’t bother them, they won’t bother you, and they will provide useful pollination and pest population control services, a win for everyone!
