You may have an ally in your garden and not even realize it. Right this very minute, paper wasps are likely on patrol in your garden constantly looking for insects to hunt down and kill.

The purpose of their prey is to provide protein for their larvae growing inside protective cells back at their nest. 

Caterpillars are paper wasps' preferred food source, but they also readily take other insects and even spiders.

Paper wasps routinely hunt and kill caterpillars much larger than themselves. As you can imagine, transporting an entire caterpillar of that size back to the nest would be impossible due to the sheer weight involved. Instead, after capturing a caterpillar, they cut it up into smaller pieces. They then roll the pieces up into manageable balls that are carried back to the nest. The small boluses of caterpillar meat are just the right size to feed to their hungry larvae.

The adult flying wasps, on the other hand, do not eat insects, instead they feed on nectar, honeydew and other sources of sugars making them valuable pollinators.

There are two species of paper wasps you are likely to see in your garden, our native northern paper wasp and the invasive European paper wasp.

They both have an extremely pinched waist and are of similar size. Our native species is nearly completely dark brown while the European variety has bright yellow markings. 

Both species build those familiar open-fronted, gray, paper-like nests found under eaves and other protected spots such as construction material, idle cars and machinery or hollow tree trunks.

Those who are old enough may recall a time when all we saw were dark brown paper wasps. Sometime in the 1970’s the European paper wasp was introduced to the eastern United States; by the mid ‘90’s they were officially discovered in Michigan.

Since then, the invaders have been pushing out our native paper wasps and we now see more yellow ones in many areas of our state. 

Usually paper wasps are not particularly aggressive, but they will readily sting if they feel like they’re under attack. Swatting at them or flailing arms around will provoke them into a defensive behavior. 

Accidently squeezing an unseen wasp will guarantee a sting. Just last week we were covering one of our chicken-wire-covered beds with insect netting to keep out cabbage moths. I grabbed a section of netting and felt a poke of what I thought was a piece of wire sticking out so I casually let go of the netting. Turns out I held the cloth a bit too long. The poke turned into a painful sting as the wasp pumped venom into the palm of my hand. It nearly took my breath away!

Wasp nests in areas where people sit or move probably should be removed to avoid the potential of stings. Other nests that are far away from people may be less of a problem.

Paper wasps have been found to fly more than 1,000 yards to hunt for insects, making them a kind of natural garden pest control. Since you can’t count on them to fly that far just to get to your individual garden, you may want to leave a nest or two in out of the way places on your property. 

Old nests from last year are never reused so it’s O to take those down whenever you want. 

Who knew that those pesky wasps could be so beneficial in the garden?