Wildlife Guide · Worldwide except polar regions & Every terrestrial habitat; some species introduced far outside their native range

Wasp

Q: What is the point of wasps?

Wasps are major predators of pest insects — a single social colony removes thousands of caterpillars, aphids and flies in a season — and they pollinate while foraging. The 100,000-plus solitary parasitoid species regulate insect populations across every terrestrial ecosystem, and fig wasps are the sole pollinators of figs, a keystone tropical food resource.

Q: Why do wasps get aggressive in late summer?

Social wasp colonies stop rearing brood in late summer. Until then, workers were fed a sugary secretion by the larvae they cared for. When that stops, workers seek sugar elsewhere — fallen fruit, drinks, bins — which brings them into contact with people. The behaviour is hunger and colony collapse, not increased aggression.

Q: Are all wasps able to sting?

No. Only females can sting, because the sting is a modified ovipositor. Most of the world's wasp species are tiny parasitoids whose ovipositor is used to lay eggs in host insects and cannot penetrate human skin.

Q: What is the difference between a wasp and a bee?

Bees evolved from wasps and switched to feeding their young on pollen and nectar; wasps feed their young on animal protein. Bees are generally hairier, with branched hairs that carry pollen; wasps are smoother and more sharply waisted. Both belong to the order Hymenoptera.

Q: Do wasps reuse their nests?

No. In temperate regions a paper wasp or yellowjacket nest is used for a single season. The colony dies in autumn, only mated queens survive the winter, and each builds a new nest in spring. An old nest can be removed safely once the colony has died.

Q: What do wasps eat?

Wasps eat Animal protein, unlike bees. Wasps are hymenopteran insects — over 100,000 species — of which the great majority are tiny solitary parasitoids; social wasps such as yellowjackets are a small minority that act as major predators of pest insects and as pollinators.

Q: Where do wasps live?

Wasps live in Worldwide except polar regions, Every terrestrial habitat; some species introduced far outside their native range. Wasps are hymenopteran insects — over 100,000 species — of which the great majority are tiny solitary parasitoids; social wasps such as yellowjackets are a small minority that act as major predators of pest insects and as pollinators.

Q: How long do wasps live?

A precise wild lifespan for wasps is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. Wasps are hymenopteran insects — over 100,000 species — of which the great majority are tiny solitary parasitoids; social wasps such as yellowjackets are a small minority that act as major predators of pest insects and as pollinators. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.

Q: How big is a wasp?

Common wasps measure about 12–17 mm. The Asian giant hornet, the largest wasp, reaches around 4.5 cm with a 7.5 cm wingspan, while the smallest parasitic wasps are under 0.2 mm — smaller than some single-celled organisms.

Order Hymenoptera, suborder Apocrita (excluding ants and bees) — over 100,000 described species

Over 100,000 species, almost all solitary and harmless — and the reason many crops are not eaten alive.

Group page — the vast majority of species are solitary, tiny and unassessed

European wasp with yellow and black banding on wood

Image: AI-generated educational wildlife portrait — World Animal Rescue Network · AI visualisation, not a photograph

In brief

Wasps are hymenopteran insects — over 100,000 species — of which the great majority are tiny solitary parasitoids; social wasps such as yellowjackets are a small minority that act as major predators of pest insects and as pollinators.

By the WARN Research & Conservation TeamChecked against IUCN Red List & CITES sourcesLast updated July 2026

Almost everything most people believe about wasps describes about a dozen species. The order contains more than 100,000 described wasps, and the overwhelming majority are tiny, solitary, stingless-to-humans parasitoids that spend their lives finding a single host insect in which to lay an egg. The familiar yellow-and-black social wasps — yellowjackets and hornets in the family Vespidae — are a small, conspicuous minority. They are also serious predators: a medium-sized colony removes many thousands of caterpillars, flies and aphids from a garden over a season, and the same colony pollinates while foraging for sugar. The late-summer nuisance behaviour that shapes their reputation is the tail end of a colony cycle, not the whole animal.

100,000+

Described wasp species

<1%

Roughly the share that are social wasps

Thousands

Pest insects removed by one social colony per season

Annual

Social wasp colonies die each autumn; only queens overwinter

Figures sourced from IUCN Red List, GBIF — Hymenoptera .

Wasp: Quick Facts

Vital statistics and key facts about the Wasp
Described species	100,000+
Social species	Well under 1% of the total
Colony cycle	Annual — only mated queens overwinter
Sting	Females only; modified ovipositor, not barbed
Larval diet	Animal protein, unlike bees
Key mutualism	Fig wasps pollinate ~900 fig species

Scientific Classification

Scientific classification of the Wasp
Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Arthropoda
Class	Insecta
Order	Hymenoptera
Suborder	Apocrita (excluding ants and bees)
Notable families	Vespidae (social wasps), Ichneumonidae, Braconidae, Agaonidae (fig wasps)

Conservation Status

IUCN Status: Varies by species — group page
Population: Not applicable at group level
Trend: Largely unmonitored; declines suspected alongside wider insect decline
Assessed: Very few species assessed
CITES: Not listed

Parasitoid wasp diversity is poorly documented, and many species are thought to be undescribed. Broad-spectrum insecticide use is the clearest documented pressure.

Did you know?

Nearly every fig you have eaten was pollinated by a wasp a couple of millimetres long that crawled inside, lost its wings doing so, and never came out.

Key Facts: Wasp

Over 99% of wasp species are solitary, and most are parasitoids that never interact with people.
Social wasp colonies are annual: workers die in autumn and only mated queens overwinter.
Wasps are significant predators of caterpillars, aphids and flies, and are also pollinators.
Fig wasps and figs have a mutual dependency — no fig wasps, no figs.
Only female wasps sting; the sting is a modified ovipositor, which is why males cannot.
Late-summer 'aggression' is a colony with no brood left to feed, switching to sugar sources.

The 99% nobody sees

Most wasps are parasitoids: a female locates a specific host — a caterpillar, aphid, beetle larva, spider or egg mass — and lays an egg in or on it. The larva develops by consuming the host. Many are under a few millimetres long, and some of the smallest insects known are parasitoid wasps. This makes wasps a foundational regulator of insect populations. Agricultural biological control relies heavily on them, with species such as Trichogramma and Encarsia reared commercially by the billion. Remove parasitoid wasps and herbivorous insect populations increase sharply — an outcome measured wherever broad-spectrum insecticides have wiped them out.

Figs, pollination and mutualism

Fig wasps (family Agaonidae) and fig trees are locked into one of the tightest mutualisms known. A fig is an inverted flower cluster; a female fig wasp enters through a narrow opening, usually losing her wings and antennae doing so, pollinates the flowers inside, lays eggs and dies. Her offspring mature inside the fig, mate, and the females leave carrying pollen to the next tree. Most of the roughly 900 fig species depend on a specific wasp species, and those wasps depend entirely on their fig. Figs are a keystone food resource for tropical birds, bats and primates, which makes this obscure partnership between a tiny wasp and a tree one of the load-bearing relationships in tropical forest ecology.

Living alongside them

Wasps sting defensively — around the nest, or when trapped against skin. Unlike honey bees they can sting repeatedly, since the sting is not barbed. Only females have one, because it is a modified egg-laying organ. Practical coexistence is straightforward: keep bins closed and sweet drinks covered in late summer, do not swat (crushed wasps release alarm pheromone that recruits nestmates), move away calmly, and leave nests alone unless they are genuinely in a high-traffic location. Nests are not reused the following year, so an out-of-the-way nest can simply be left until the colony dies naturally in autumn.

What WARN Does

WARN publishes free, sourced species education for the animals people are most inclined to kill on sight. Wasps do a substantial share of the predation and pollination that keeps gardens and farmland functioning, and the gap between their reputation and their record is one of the widest in the animal world.

If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.

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How does the wasp compare?

Bee vs Wasp →Hornet vs Wasp →

Wasp: Frequently Asked Questions

What is the point of wasps?

Wasps are major predators of pest insects — a single social colony removes thousands of caterpillars, aphids and flies in a season — and they pollinate while foraging. The 100,000-plus solitary parasitoid species regulate insect populations across every terrestrial ecosystem, and fig wasps are the sole pollinators of figs, a keystone tropical food resource.

Why do wasps get aggressive in late summer?

Social wasp colonies stop rearing brood in late summer. Until then, workers were fed a sugary secretion by the larvae they cared for. When that stops, workers seek sugar elsewhere — fallen fruit, drinks, bins — which brings them into contact with people. The behaviour is hunger and colony collapse, not increased aggression.

Are all wasps able to sting?

No. Only females can sting, because the sting is a modified ovipositor. Most of the world's wasp species are tiny parasitoids whose ovipositor is used to lay eggs in host insects and cannot penetrate human skin.

What is the difference between a wasp and a bee?