It's a Sting in the Tail Trivia Quiz

Answer: Vespula Vulgaris

There are several species of social wasps of which the common wasp is one. Vespula rufa is known as the red wasp and tends to nest underground. Vespa crabro is the largest of the social wasps - the hornet. It is mainly a southern species and nests in trees. The Vespula austriaca is known as the cuckoo wasp. It has no workers and lays its eggs in other species nests - hence the name.

Answer: False

Although most of the social wasps are black and yellow, the largest - the hornet - is actually yellow and brown.

Answer: The females

The female is the only wasp that can sting. The sting itself is an adapted ovipositor, the organ with which the female insect lays her eggs. As males don't lay eggs - they don't have one.

Answer: True

Strangely, only female wasps come from fertilised eggs. Sperm cells from mating are stored inside the queen over winter whilst she hibernates. In spring she uses the sperm to create female workers to increase the colony's size. At the end of the summer, she runs out of sperm and the fertile male wasps are then produced to fertilise the fertile females and begin the cycle again.

Answer: All of these

The fertilised queen, on her own in spring, will make a small nest from wood pulp which she chews and mixes with her saliva. She will lay the female fertilised eggs in this nest. They will then emerge as workers and continue to build the nest and feed the larvae, leaving her to her main function as egg layer.

Answer: Ignore it

A wasp is unlikely to sting you unless you wave your arms about screaming. Killing the wasp would actually be a very bad idea because as it dies it releases a pheromone which acts as an alarm to other wasps in the area. This is also released if the wasp stings.

Other wasps in the area become more aggressive and go to investigate. So it's a particularly bad idea to kill a wasp near its nest!

Answer: Adult social wasps live solely on sugars

Adult social wasps live on sugars. They often attempt to invade honey bee nests and steal their honey. The wasp larvae actually produce a sweet substance for the adults to eat but in late summer the queen stops laying so the adults have to find their sugar elsewhere. This is why they seem more annoying in late summer.

Answer: False

In actual fact, a wasp sting is more or less neutral with a pH of around 6.8. (Information from Keele University and Timesonline)
The best treatment for a wasp sting is to wash the area with soap and water and apply an ice pack. You can also apply antihistamine cream to reduce the itching, or take an antihistamine tablet or liquid. If it is very painful, take a painkiller.

Answer: False

Wasp colonies only use their nest for one year. They tend to be very fragile and cannot withstand the winter weather. Towards autumn the queen will start to lay the fertile male and female eggs. These will then mate and the fertile females will leave the nest. The colony declines quickly after this and dies out as food becomes scarce.

Answer: False

Surprisingly, wasps are really quite useful! They feed their thousands of larvae on masticated insects, including caterpillars and aphids, which are often harmful to crops and gardens. The wasp larvae all have a largely protein diet so that's quite a lot of insects. They are also pollinators, not to the same extent as bees obviously, but they do land on flowers and spread the pollen.