Despite their bad reputation and tendency to disrupt picnics, wasps are an important part of our ecosystem.

During this time of year, it can seem like most outdoor activities are plagued by the flying insects… but they appear to have lacked their usual numbers in 2024.

Colder and wetter weather and climate change have had a global impact on the invertebrates.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    234 months ago

    If getting rid of wasps means the collapse of our entire ecosystem, so be it. At least we took those fuckers down with us.

    • @NegativeInf
      link
      English
      64 months ago

      Aren’t bees and ants basically wasps? They all come from a common ancestor. Just differently specialized.

      • @LordKitsuna
        link
        English
        334 months ago

        They specialized in to not being little fucking assholes so I’m okay with them

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          74 months ago

          honestly it’s more like yellowjackets specialized in being assholes, most wasps don’t interact with us at all and just lay eggs in spiders or some shit.

          • @NegativeInf
            link
            English
            34 months ago

            Parasitoid wasps and mud daubers are dope little homies with coevolved viral injectors.

        • @HappycamperNZ
          link
          English
          44 months ago

          Yeah, give me a pile of fluffy cubes with wings over the angry stingy fuckers any day.

      • @br3d
        link
        English
        114 months ago

        Points at bees “Why can’t you be more like your cousin?”

  • @cornshark
    link
    English
    44 months ago

    Where’s this colder and wetter weather? I thought the earth was breaking one heat record after another this year?

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      14 months ago

      I thought the earth was breaking one heat record after another this year?

      On average, it is. But the other effect of climate change, and a big part of the reason it isn’t generally referred to as “global warming” anymore, is an increase in weather extremes worldwide. Rainstorms are wetter, droughts are drier, cold snaps are colder, and heat waves are hotter.

  • @_lilith
    link
    English
    34 months ago

    Plant some native plants and invite the swarm

  • TragicNotCute
    link
    English
    24 months ago

    I know this is a BBC article so it might not apply to America, but they are in my yard. All the wasps are hanging around in my backyard waiting to be dicks.