The annual wasp plague is sometimes stronger, sometimes weaker. If so, it is at its worst in late summer from August. However, the flight activity in the seasonal cycle of the wasp colony begins much earlier - we just don't notice it as much.
When do wasps fly in the year?
Wasps begin to fly out in April, when the queen builds a nest and raises the first generation of workers. Flight activity increases steadily from June onwards and peaks in August when new queens and males are produced.
The seasonal development of the wasp state
In order to get an idea of when wasps start to fly out in the year, it is helpful to have some background knowledge about how they founded and developed a state. So let's go through the stations. Overall, state development can be broken down into the following phases:
1. Nest founded by queen
2. First generation of workers
3. Breeding additional workers4. Breeding new queens and males
1. The laying of the foundation stone – hardly any wasps to be seen yet
The foundation stone for a wasp colony is laid by a single, fertilized female wasp that has survived the winter in a state of cold paralysis - a so-called queen. In spring, around April, she looks for suitable shelter for a new nest. Here she begins alone to create the first brood cells from chewed wood. She lays a first round of eggs there and raises them on her own.
This time is the only phase in which the queen flies out herself. Of course, you have to be very lucky to meet her. So if you come across a wasp in April, it's almost certainly a queen - so don't forget to bow respectfully!
2. First generation of workers – isolated wasps can be seen
After about a month, the first group of workers developed. These live exclusively to breed additional workers and ultimately the species-preserving sexual animals. As soon as the worker wasps emerge from their pupation, they begin their job: and that consists of diligently searching for food. The queen now lays more eggs and stays in the nest. Hard-working helpers are now there to get food.
We can discover one of these every now and then, i.e. from the end of April or the beginning of June.
3. Breeding additional workers
From June onwards, more and more workers are bred and the wasp presence in the air gradually increases.
4. Offspring of sexual animals
In August we finally enter the crucial phase of species protection for the next year: the important males and new queens are bred. Of course, these have to be looked after particularly well - which is why there is often a real plague of wasps.
