This is why you should never (ever ever) wave at a wasp again

The terrace in the Amsterdamse Bos looked like a scene from a scary dream. Around all the tables buzzed about seven wasps. One crawled into the drink of my table mate who had just gone to the bathroom. They mistook my red top for a flowery bush that needed to be circled around. And when they eventually wanted to sit on my face as well, I simply couldn't resist waving anymore. It's quite a crappy summer for anyone who wishes wasps the worst. And August has only just begun.

In NRC, wasp expert aka entomologist Seirian Sumner explains what you should definitely do and what you better leave alone in the case of wasps. She deals with the behavior of social wasps (the species that live in a colony) and wrote a book about the little creature. I didn't even know you could write a whole book about the being. That woman knows about wasps, let's just say.

To begin with, according to the expert, it's a very useful animal that eats other insects, but we don't really notice that. It eats all sorts of animal species outside our view that we would rather be rid of. Furthermore, the wasp is absolutely not interested in you, but in what is happening in your glass or on your plate. According to the wasp expert, it is therefore best to passively endure the wasp's attention. Just breathe in and out calmly, watch, and wait until it leaves again. The wasp is simply after sugar. By the way, it's also a myth that a wasp dies after stinging, because the stinger has no barbs. If you anger the little creature, it can therefore attack multiple times. You've been warned.

But whatever you do, especially do NOT swat at wasps. Why not? In the worst case, such a yellow-black striped friend thinks you're a badger (!) that has it out for him. And as soon as the wasp thinks you're coming with bad intentions, it will attack. A badger flails exactly like a scared person when he catches a wasp as a tasty meal. So at the moment you start waving your hands frantically above that Aperol Spritz, it comes across a bit differently than you intended.

The remarkable thing is that I don't even panic (that quickly) anymore. I just walked out of the supermarket and there was simply a wasp on my hand. Sitting there for no reason. And I didn't even start running in circles, because there are simply so many that it's impossible to run away from them. It's a miracle. The wasp expert would surely be proud of me.

Source: NRC