Different food for young and old
Unlike us humans, wasps get completely different food in the young stage than they eat in the adult stage. This is because the larvae need a lot of protein for their development in the pupa. As an adult animal, a lot of carbohydrates in the form of sugar are particularly necessary to meet its energy requirements.
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In nature, the wasp usually finds a table laid for itself and its offspring. Workers primarily enjoy nectar-containing flowers and sweet plant juices. They can only get nectar from their mouthparts because they are less focused on pollen-collecting more easily accessible flowers, such as those of ivy, brownwort, marshwort, buckthorn or umbelliferous plants receive. They get sap from trees with damaged bark.
The excretions of aphids, so-called honeydew, are also part of the diet of adult wasps.
The adult animals hunt insects for their larvae and give them to them in the form of chewed mash.
Wasps menu in brief:
- Adult animals: flower nectar, sweet plant juices, honeydew
- Larvae: chewed, protein-containing insect pulp
Food stolen from our tables
The wasps that we see in everyday summer are of course only adults. With the nutritional knowledge outlined above, one could now ask the question: Why do the black and yellow insects then not just pounce on them? sweet delicacies on the breakfast or coffee table such as jam and icing tarts, but also on savory dishes such as ham, grilled meat and Egg salad? Well, after all, they have to care for their offspring as well. And for this they not only hunt insects, but also enrich the baby food with protein-rich food from our terrace tables.
As everyone has probably already experienced, the animals are extremely determined and therefore difficult to drive away. However, you should avoid waving your hands around as much as possible. This makes the wasps aggressive and eager to sting - which they are not by themselves.
In order to get rid of the annoying pests while you are eating, you can easily adjust your preference to it Take advantage of sweet things: for example, put a bowl with sugar water or a dollop of jam on. If a wasp settles on it, you can slowly put a glass over the bowl. After you have finished eating in peace and quiet and the table has been cleared, you can free the wasp again.
This will give you peace of mind without unnecessarily tormenting the insect, which is the case with many commercially available wasp traps. Often the wasp does not panic under the glass, but takes advantage of the delicacy on offer despite being captive.