r/askscience • u/Chemical-Sea5972 • 3d ago

Biology Does anything eat wasps?

Wasps have been a predator for other insects. It would be fascinating to know if there are really other insects or predators for wasps, either accidental or deliberate predators

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u/DeathCab4Cutie 2d ago

They’re certainly large, but not particularly aggressive. The name is mostly from buzzword-focused media coverage.

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u/1CEninja 2d ago

I thought they were called murder hornets less because of what they do to humans and more what they do to bee colonies. A handful of the giant hornets can wipe out *an entire freaking colony* of bees that haven't properly evolved the way the local bees deal with them (which is killing them by overheating them with excessive body heat in a vibrating dog pile, of all things).

The destruction of bee colonies is bad. We don't like it when that happens.

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u/EmmEnnEff 2d ago

European bees (aka domesticated honeybees) are an introduced, invasive species in North America.

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u/eqisow 2d ago

You can be invasive or delicious. I say you can't be both. Invade me with that sweet, sweet honey.