Eumundi Voice - Issue 89, 21 March 2024

Man vs Australian paper wasp

“Ouch!” A common complaint heard frequently amongst gardeners during this summer – one agreed by many Sunshine Coast locals as the hottest and sweatiest they can remember. Garden weeds have grown quicker and taller than ever while mozzies have multiplied to uncomfortable levels.

In my garden, “Damn!” is commonly heard when I fall prey to a paper wasp. These critters – whose venom stings like a bullet – have left me with a swollen eye socket and a hand three times its normal size. After the second sting, and despite my philosophy to let nature be, I was sorely tempted to dash to Bunnings to purchase the strongest pesticide. Firstly, however, I decided to research the beasts and this is what I discovered ...

Australian paper wasps (Polistes humilis) are found throughout the country. There are around 35 species ranging from 8-26mm in length and all are either yellow, brown or black striped. Their nest – a cluster of hexagonal cells made from saliva mixed with wood fragments – appears like an inverted cone made from paper. The nests host a small wasp colony and hang under tree branches and house eaves where maggot-like wasp larvae develop inside its papery cells. So, how does this affect the decision to kill or let live? Well, wait for these stunning facts ...

The Australian paper wasp eats many insect pests including leaf-mining flies which would otherwise damage commercial crops. They also feed garden caterpillars to their larvae making this a natural form of caterpillar control. As adult wasps feed on nectar, like bees, they are an important garden pollinator.

Google tells us that the Aussie wasp is at least far less aggressive than their European counterpart. Only seven Australian deaths in 20 years have been attributed to wasp stings, mainly among known allergy sufferers who were not carrying their preventative medicine.

So should we learn to live with Aussie wasps, let them work their magic in our gardens and weed their target plants only during the evening when the critters are less active? In my case, after being stung twice more without any provocation, I headed to Isle 30 Bay 3. Enough is enough – they have to go. Letting the paper wasp win is not an option for me. But now you know the facts I’ll leave the decision in your garden up to you.