Pest Home

                                                           HONEY BEE

The honey bee benefits the economy immensely. Honey bees produce millions of dollars worth of honey and beeswax, as well as pollinate commercial fruits, vegetables, and field crops. However, by establishing a colony in a house, building, or hollow tree next to the home, honey bees may become a nuisance or hazard to humans. Some people have severe allergic reactions to the sting of a honey bee. 

Identification

Honey bees are characterized by the presence of a long, pointed tongue, social habit, front wings with three closed sub marginal cells, and no spurs at the tips of the hind Tibiae (4th segment of the insect's leg). Adults consist of three castes: queens (3/5- to 3/4-inch long) are fully developed egg layers with only one in each colony; drones (3/4- to 5/8-inch long) are functional males; and workers (2/5- to 3/5-inch long) are undeveloped females.

The first honey bees introduced from Europe were black German bees. The common Ohio variety of honey bee is the Italian, which is a golden-brown and black bee covered with short, dense hair. The forepart of the abdomen is yellow and there is some yellow between the four brown bands on the rest of the abdomen. The Caucasian variety, a mild-tempered bee, is dark, and its abdomen is banded with gray. The carniolan is a gray bee similar in appearance to Caucasian. Most people see only the workers, which regularly fly in and out of the nest.

Life Cycle and Habits

The Queen

The queen is the only female in the colony capable of laying fertilized eggs. She is extremely important, because without her no young bees would be replacing the old bees as they die. The rest of the bees pay a lot of attention to her. There is only one queen to each bee colony, and she may live two to five years. She must be fed by the others in the colony, and she can do none of the rest of the chores that need to be accomplished to make honey and keep a clean nest.

The Drone

Drones are male bees within the colony. There may be several hundred drones in the spring and summer, but they are all eliminated in the fall and winter when their services are no longer wanted. The drone develops from unfertilized eggs and exists only to fertilize or mate with young queens. He typically lives 40 to 50 days, and is bigger than either the queen or workers.

The Worker

The majority of bees in colony are worker bees. They perform most of the functions bees are known for, such as making honey and stinging for defense. Although workers are females, they cannot lay fertilized eggs. There may be as many as 60,000 workers in a colony, though the average figure for the whole year is 30,000.

Workers live only 40 days in the summer, but may live several months during winter. Some gather nectar and pollen in the field; others process the honey. Usually, the workers perform their duties based on age. The younger ones are cleaners and helpers. The older, more experienced bees, are builders and do the foraging in the field.

The nest is the comb on which the bees rest, rear brood, and store honey. The comb is constructed of wax. It has a central rib, with six-sided cells constructed on each side parallel to the ground. The cells are the storage area for the bee colony and at the same time serve as the nursery for rearing young bees.

The life cycle of the brood is egg (3 days), larva (6 days), pupa (12 days) for a total of 21 days from egg to adult worker. This cycle is longer (24 days) for drones and shorter (16 days) for queens.

                                                    EUROPEAN WASP

Background

A new type of threat of injury exists on our playgrounds. The European Wasp has arrived!

Bee and wasp stings are a common occurrence in and around playgrounds. However, the European Wasp does not act like our common, native wasps. Special care is required.

Analysis

Where did they come from?

The European wasp is native to Europe, North Africa and temperate Asia, but not Australia. Its first recorded sighting in Australia was in 1959. The first nest destroyed in South Australia was in Port Adelaide in 1978. The European wasp is now well established in metropolitan Adelaide and has reached some country areas.

The European Paper-Wasp sting is not more potent than that of other wasps. However, it can be more harmful and dangerous in the following ways:

• The European Paper-Wasp is more easily provoked;

• They are more likely to chase someone a short distance after being provoked;

• They can sting a victim repeatedly;

• They are able to release a chemical signal which "marks" the sting victim, attracting other wasps to sting the same person;

• Their nests are more often concealed in a cavity such as a hollow tube and may not be as obvious;

• Their nests are also found more often in bushes located in fields.

Yes and no. A sting is not necessarily life-threatening for most people. However, it can be life-threatening to an individual with an allergy to such stings. In addition, even a non-allergic victim can experience a serious medical emergency if stung multiple times by a nest of bees, hornets or wasps. The European Paper-Wasp does sting multiple times. As previously mentioned, the European Paper-Wasp sting alone is not more potent than other wasps.

• Symptoms that could signal the onset of an extreme allergic reaction include:
• Itching of the skin and raised rash (hives);
• Flushing, swelling of the tissues of the lips, throat, tongue, hands and feet;
• Wheezing, shortness of breath, coughing, hoarseness;
• Headache;
• Nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps;
• Sense of impending doom, loss of consciousness.

Anaphylaxis (extreme allergic reaction) can affect various organ systems, including the skin, upper and lower respiratory tracts, cardiovascular system, eyes, uterus and bladder. The initial symptoms may appear within a few seconds or up to two hours after exposure.

Extreme allergic reactions should never be underestimated. Immediate action is necessary since death can occur within minutes. Unfortunately, anaphylaxis can be confused with other conditions with similar symptoms which include: hypertension, anxiety attack, alcohol intoxication and low blood sugar.

• Regularly inspect the outside of your building and the playground paying particular attention to open piping and cavities where nests can be built. Children are particularly vulnerable to attacks by stinging insects because of their tendency to play in fields and near bushes and shrubs. Their loud and active play can inadvertently frighten a colony causing an attack.
• Remove any bee, hornet or wasp nests that are found on your property. They pose a serious hazard to the safety of children. A feelsecure pest control company can assist you in determining what type of nest you have and the safe and proper method for removal. Do not attempt to destroy or remove a nest while children or others from the public are in the area!
• Teach students the dangers of playing near bees, hornets and wasps. Students should be informed to alert a teacher or another adult if they spot a nest.
• Train teachers and playground supervisors on:

1. How to identify allergic reactions.
2. How to apply appropriate first aid.

• Record and communicate known anaphylaxis history of students to appropriate teachers and playground supervisors. This will allow for a timely and appropriate medical response.

The European wasp is native to Europe, North Africa and temperate Asia, but not Australia. Its first recorded sighting in Australia was in 1959. The first nest destroyed in South Australia was in Port Adelaide in 1978. The European wasp is now well established in metropolitan Adelaide and has reached some country areas.

The EUROPEAN wasp, Vespula germancia, is most easily identifiable by:-

• Its bright YELLOW body
• TRIANGULAR markings on the abdomen.

While the European wasp is the same SIZE as the bee (10-15mm) it is less hairy and folds its wings back at rest.  QUEEN European wasps have identical markings and colouring, except are LARGER and can be up to 20mm.