Wasps Vital to the Ecosystem
Ann Cicarella
August is a wonderful time of year to observe many insects nectaring and gathering pollen in our gardens as they get ready for winter—beetles, native bees and wasps.
Unfortunately, wasps often get a bad rap because of a few aggressive species, but the 18,000 wasps in North America are vital to the ecosystem and have fascinating biology and behaviors. Here are two of my favorites!
Great Golden Digger wasp on wild quinine
The Great Golden Digger wasp (Sphex ichneumoneus) has a fierce, intergalactic appearance. However, this wasp is very gentle and completely non-aggressive towards people and pets. It is a solitary wasp and, therefore, doesn’t have a nest to defend. Its ecosystem services include predatation on crickets, grasshoppers and katydids as food for its larvae. It also pollinates plants as it gathers nectar. I frequently see this wasp in late summer on common boneset, wild quinine and common mountain mint.
Cicada Killer on Whorled Milkweed
Another fear-inducing wasp is the Cicada Killer (Specius speciousus), but despite its large size and bright coloring, the Cicada Killer is harmless to humans, reserving the use of its significant stingers to paralyze cicadas as food for its larvae. Controlling the cicada population and pollinating plants are huge ecosystem services.
For more in-depth information, check out pollinator conservationist Heather Holm’s award winning book “Wasps: Their Biology, Diversity and Role and Beneficial Insects and Pollinators of Native Plants.”