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]
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    231 month 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
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      61 month ago

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

      • @LordKitsuna
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        331 month ago

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

        • @[email protected]
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          71 month 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
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            31 month ago

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

        • @HappycamperNZ
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          41 month ago

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

      • @br3d
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        111 month ago

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

  • @cornshark
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    41 month ago

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

    • @[email protected]
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      11 month 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
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    31 month ago

    Plant some native plants and invite the swarm

  • TragicNotCute
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    21 month 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.