Wasps are commonly known for their attraction to sugary foods and drinks. Many people have had the experience of sitting outside on a sunny day, sipping a sweet beverage, only to have wasps suddenly appear and hover around. This leads to the common question – do wasps actually seek out sources of sugar? The short answer is yes, wasps are attracted to sugary substances. However, understanding the reasons behind this behavior requires a deeper look into wasp biology and behavior.
The Role of Carbohydrates in Wasp Biology
Wasps, like all living organisms, require sources of energy to survive. Their primary source of energy comes from sugars obtained from carbohydrate-rich foods. Female worker wasps have especially high energy demands since they are busy caring for larvae, building and maintaining the nest, and defending the colony.
Carbohydrates provide wasps with the glucose molecules necessary to fuel high-intensity activities like flying. They also enable wasps to synthesize lipids, proteins, and other essential biomolecules. Adult wasps that fail to obtain sufficient sugars will lack energy, become more lethargic, and can eventually die. Larval wasps also depend on sugars obtained by adult foragers to fuel their development and growth.
Preferred Carbohydrate Sources
Adult wasps have a clear preference for obtaining sugars from ripe fruits and tree sap. They use their sucking mouthparts to extract the nutrient-rich juices from these sources. However, wasps are opportunistic and can exploit other sugars when fruit is scarce. This includes human foods and drinks containing sugars like sucrose, fructose, glucose, and high-fructose corn syrup. Wasps detect these food items through keen senses of smell and taste.
Reasons Wasps Are Attracted to Sugar
Now that we understand the importance of sugars to wasp biology, we can explore the key reasons why wasps zero in on sugary substances:
High Energy Needs
The high energy demands of worker wasps make sugars an attractive target. Just a small amount of a sweet substance can provide substantial calories to fuel hours of active flight and work. Since sugars are a quick energy boost, they are preferentially sought out by foraging wasps.
Sensitivity to Sweet Tastes
Wasps, like many other insects, possess taste receptors on their mouthparts and antennae that are highly sensitive to sugars. Even minute concentrations elicit a strong neurological response signaling a valuable food source. When wasps smell or taste accessible sugars, they instinctively move to consume it.
Lack of Other Food Sources
Later in summer when fruits become scarcer, wasps grow more desperate to find alternate carbohydrate sources. This can lead them to become more aggressive around human foods and drinks. Since these items contain large amounts of energy-rich sugars, they become increasingly attractive to wasps.
Sugary Drinks Resemble Tree Sap
Beverages containing sugars like sodas, juices, and sweetened teas closely mimic the chemical composition of plant saps that wasps naturally feed on. When wasps detect sweet scents emanating from human drinks, they readily approach them as a familiar food source.
Do All Wasps Seek Sugar?
While the vast majority of wasps consume sugary foods, there are a few exceptions:
Carnivorous Wasp Species
Parasitoid wasps that lay eggs inside insect hosts have strictly carnivorous diets. As adults, they consume only nectar for its water content and do not actually eat sugars. Their larvae feed on the host tissue, which provides ample nutrients.
Male Wasps
Male wasps have lower energy requirements compared to females. They primarily just mate with females and do not participate in nest building or foraging. Male wasps consume some flower nectar but largely just drink water and do not actively seek sugary foods.
Newly Emerged Wasps
Immediately after emerging from their pupal cell, both male and female wasps do not eat solid foods. They subsist on internal energy stores accumulated during larval development. Only after reaching maturity do they require foraging for external food.
Do Wasps Pollinate?
Although wasps primarily visit flowers to consume nectar, they do end up transferring pollen between plants. Their fuzzy bodies make them effective pollinators of certain plant species. However, wasps are considered minor pollinators compared to bees, which deliberately gather pollen to provision their nests. Wasps likely played a greater evolutionary role in pollination before the appearance of flowering plants and evolvement of bees.
Wasps Visiting Flowers
Many wasp species regularly visit flowers to feed on nutritious nectar. Nectar provides a concentrated source of glucose, fructose, and sucrose to fuel wasp metabolism. Flowers produce nectar specifically to attract pollinating insects like wasps and bees.
Incidental Pollination
When wasps travel between flowers feeding on nectar, pollen grains stick to their legs, abdomen, and mouthparts. When they visit the next flower, some of this pollen rubs off onto the flower’s stigma. This facilitates cross-pollination between different plants. However, wasps do not purposefully collect pollen, unlike bees that feed it directly to their larvae.
Effectiveness Compared to Bees
Wasps are considered incidental pollinators. Their fuzzy bodies do enable effective pollen transfer. However, bees have specially adapted hairs and pollen-carrying structures that make them far more efficient at deliberately transporting pollen between flowers as they forage. But in ecosystems lacking bees, wasps can play a key role in pollination.
Evolutionary Perspective
Fossil evidence indicates wasps were among the first insect pollinators tens of millions of years ago. At the time, flowering plants were just starting to diversify and likely relied on accidental wasp pollination. As flowering plant relationships co-evolved with specific bee groups, bees took over the dominant pollination role. Still, wasps remain as backup pollinators today.
Ways to Deter Wasps from Sugar Sources
Here are some tips to prevent wasps from disturbing you while enjoying sugary foods and drinks outdoors:
Avoid Bright Colors
Wasps rely heavily on vision when foraging. Drinks in bright colors like red can mimic ripe fruit and quickly attract them. Stick to plain colors like yellow, green, or blue.
Choose Covered Containers
Open cups or glasses easily allow accessing the sugary scent. Use containers with lids and straws to minimize odor exposure.
Eliminate Spills and Drips
Be diligent about quickly wiping up spills and drips of sugary liquids. Even small sticky patches radiate an attractive scent.
Position Food Away From Nests
If you notice an active wasp nest nearby, position yourself as far from it as possible. The wasps will be less likely to notice your food.
Avoid Highly Sweetened Items
Foods with natural sugars like fruits will be less attractive than ultra-sweet baked goods or syrupy drinks. Go for options with less excessive sugars.
Try Repellents
Citronella oil or other insect-repelling products can mask attractive scents and make outdoor areas less enticing. Apply them around seating areas.
Use Traps
Stringing commercially available wasp traps nearby can lure foragers away with their bait. This reduces wasps bothering your meal.
Avoid Swatting
If a wasp does approach your food, stay calm. Swatting will only provoke aggressive defense. Gently wave it away instead.
Key Takeaways
– Wasps rely on consuming sugars from carbohydrate sources to fuel their high energy lifestyles. This drives them to seek out ripe fruits and tree sap.
– When fruit becomes scarce, wasps grow desperate for alternate sugar sources. This causes them to target human foods and drinks containing sugars.
– Wasps detect sugars primarily through keen senses of smell and taste. Even small food spills and drips can attract them.
– While wasps do perform some flower pollination when feeding on nectar, they are much less efficient than specialized pollinators like bees.
– Using covered containers, eliminating spills, and trapping can help deter wasps from disturbing outdoor sugary treats.