Today we are going to talk about a type of wasp that has a deep red color and that is quite well known due to this color. It's about the red wasp. Its scientific name is carolina and belongs to the order Hymenoptera. It is considered a rather showy species and is found primarily in Texas and Nebraska.
In this article we are going to tell you all the characteristics, habitat, feeding and reproduction of the red wasp.
Key features
Although the red appearance of this wasp is the most striking, it also has other physical aspects that give it greater uniqueness. And it is that, apart from the red aspect that they have, they have a great difference with other wasps and makes identifying it quite easy. Let's see what are the characteristics that stand out to a greater extent in the red wasp:
- Size: The red wasp are not the largest wasps that exist, since there are some species that exceed two centimeters in length. Average size of the red sight is about 1.5 centimeters. It rarely measures less than that.
- Structure and coloring: The structure of the red wasps is the same as that of other species but varies in color. The whole body is of an intense red color, tending to brown. It should be noted that the rest of his family has a pair of wings of a very dark hue and that can sometimes be perceived as having them. Not purple almost black. In some specimens, completely black wings have been found.
Habitat and feeding of the red wasp
This wasp is found primarily in the central and eastern United States. The greatest frequency and abundance of the red wasp can be seen in Nebraska and in Texas. In these places, some caution must be exercised since these insects live in colonies of a large number of individuals. They can be found on the eaves of houses, building exteriors, watersheds, forests, among others.
In some parts of the United States they have become a plague on numerous occasions. Red wasp infestation treatment It is somewhat complex since individuals have to be attacked from their nest.
As for their diet, these insects feed mainly on other dead insects, mostly. In addition to consuming flies on most occasions, they consume other insects. The reason why they consume mostly flies is that they are easy prey that serve to feed their family with greater certainty. Regarding their behavior, we see that they are social wasps and are not solitary at all, as we have mentioned before. For this reason, it is easy for the red wasp to become a plague in various places where it frequently stays.
They usually live in colonies and host 3 kinds of wasps. Within the species of red wasp, there are categories that are divided into fertile queens, sterile workers and males. The colony begins to be built in the spring season. These insects need slightly higher temperatures and do not tolerate cold well. When spring arrives they begin to make the nest where the colony is established.
The female is in charge of building the nest and mating. She comes out of her winter hiding place in order to find a place that is conducive to making the nest. Once she has found the ideal place she begins to deposit her eggs.
Red Wasp Life Cycle
We are going to see what the life cycle of the red wasp is and what are the stages it goes through. The most normal thing is that the seasonal activity of the red wasp focuses on the warmest months of the year. As we have mentioned before, these insects need higher temperatures to be able to carry out all their tasks. If the temperatures are pleasant, the female can lay around 800 eggs in a single nest. These eggs are only laid by the fertile queen and she will need several nests to further expand her population. If you center all the eggs in a single nest it is a more vulnerable wasp colony.
Later, when the eggs hatch, the larvae emerge. These larvae are in charge of eating the remains of other insects in order to strengthen growth and evolution. The remains of the insects are captured by the adult wasps that bring the prey to the nest so that the larvae can feed. One of the larvae has already completed its life cycle and becomes an adult with the aim of caring for other larvae. The function of most wasps is to protect the nest. In this way, only the fertile queen is in charge of continuing to lay more eggs as long as possible in each of the nests. If the fertile female dies, the nest is in danger and will probably end up disappearing.
The survival of these insects depends on the fertile female, just like queens in ant colonies. Without the fertile queen, the anthills end up decreasing the number of individuals until they disappear.
Behavior
We are going to analyze what the behavior of the red wasp is and if it can become dangerous for the human being. This wasp is characterized by be quite active during the day and returns to the nest at night. During the day it is in charge of capturing its prey and feeding its young. The leading females are those that begin to lay eggs during the day. However, she rests from this work at night.
As for the danger, it is not known to be aggressive since it will not attack us unless it feels threatened and its nest is in danger. The same goes for other non-prey insects. They will not attack if they do not feel threatened. There are people who have been bitten by this insect and point out that the perceived pain is very intense and the bite is very annoying. They claim that the sting is similar to that provided by a black wasp.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about the red wasp and its characteristics.
