More than two hundred participants in the second edition of the National Wasp Count saw 1170 wasps last week. Just like last year, the most frequently counted wasp was the so-called lemonade wasp, which prefers sweets. However, this species, like other social wasps, was less common in the counts than a year ago: 692 this year compared to 794 in 2022. It is also striking that counters observed a European hornet more often than last year, according to the Wespenstichting.
“More than half of the participants have seen a European hornet,” says secretary Eric Mahieu. “That is striking, because that species is naturally less common in certain parts of the country, such as coastal areas.” The European hornet is a native wasp species. Like the common or German wasp, which is also called the lemonade wasp, the hornets are among the social wasp species that make a nest and live there together. There are about ten species of social wasps in the Netherlands, compared to several hundred solitary wasp species. About 70 percent of the wasps observed this year were social wasps.
The counting sheet also included “pretend wasps,” flying creatures that resemble a wasp. In that category, the hoverfly emerged as the winner with 1080 observations. The city giant was also often seen. According to Mahieu, this insect is often confused with the Asian hornet, an invasive exotic that probably ended up in Europe with a cargo from China at the beginning of this century.
Asian Hornet
Only four Asian hornets were counted this year. “So it is still a rare species,” said Mahieu. “It is important that we tackle invasive exotics, but we must not panic unnecessarily,” he says. “There are a lot of insects flying around that look dangerous, but are not.” In addition to wasps and hoverflies, 1928 bees have been counted. “The wasp count has once again been won by the bee,” laughs Mahieu.
With the National Wasp Census, the Wespenstichting hopes to improve knowledge about and understanding of social wasp species. According to the foundation, wasps are wrongly dismissed as annoying and aggressive, while they play an important role in nature and only the two types of lemonade wasps can be a nuisance on a terrace, for example. The count was actually last weekend, but was extended by a week due to bad weather.