Do wasps pollinate?

Yes, wasps are important pollinators. They have the ability to pollinate plants because they have direct contact with the flowers, while they search for food. They are not as efficient as bees, which have villi to which pollen adheres, or like hummingbirds, which have a long beak to insert it into the flower, but they do manage to pollinate various species of vegetation.

In this other article we talk about Pollination: what it is, process, types, pollinators and importance.

Although wasps have a reputation for being aggressive insects, the reality is that adult wasps do not feed on other insects, but only drink carbohydrates obtained from the nectar of flowers or fruit. They have a high energy demand due to their constant flight, and in order to maintain it they look for foods rich in sugars.

Wasps pollinate while searching for food. They can transfer pollen when they are feeding on nectar and come into contact with the flower. Part of the pollen adheres to them and they bring it closer to the stigma of the flower. Pollination can be in the same flower, or carrying pollen from one flower to another.

We can find three ways by which wasps pollinate:⁽¹⁾

• Generalist pollinating wasps: they pollinate resource-rich flowers that other organisms can also pollinate.
• Specialized pollinating wasps: they are those that pollinate specific flowers rich in resources due to intricate joint evolution between flower and wasp. An example of this are fig wasps.
• Pollinating wasps specialized in low-resource plants: they do this through deceptive pollination. These are low-resource flowers, such as orchids, that use techniques such as scents or mimicry to attract wasps.
• Pollination by pollen collection: there is an exceptional case that is important to mention. This is only carried out by masarina wasps of the Masarinae subfamily, which collect pollen to feed their young. It is a rare strategy among wasps and normally seen only in bees.

Among the best known are:

• Masarinae wasps (subfamily Masarinae): unlike most wasps, these feed almost exclusively on pollen and nectar. They are considered the most specialized wasps in pollination and can act in a similar way to bees.
• Fig wasps (Agaonidae): These wasps have a unique symbiotic relationship with fig trees. Without them, the figs would not be able to develop properly.
• Wasps of the family Vespidae: includes social and solitary wasps that, when searching for nectar, transport pollen between flowers.
• Orchid Wasps: Some tropical orchids rely on male wasps for pollination, attracted by specific pheromones that mimic females.
• Scoliidae and Pompilidae Wasps: Although they are best known as insect controllers (predators), they can also participate in pollination by visiting flowers to obtain nectar.

These species are less “specialized” in pollinating than bees, but they play an important role for certain plants and ecosystems.

There are important differences that make bees better pollinators than wasps. These are:

• Villi on the body: Bees have their bodies covered by villi that trap pollen, but wasps have much fewer villi, making their pollination more inefficient. The exception is the wasps of the family Scoliidae, which are large, hairy wasps, such as the mammoth wasp (Megascolia maculata).
• Pollen sacs: bees have sacs on their sides where they can attach pollen, and thus carry it to their hives. Wasps lack them.
• Store: bees carry out pollination to feed the colony, but wasps do not search for pollen themselves. The only exception is the aforementioned masarina wasps.

We also recommend watching this video about the general differences between bees and wasps.

• Wasps help flowers to be pollinated more precisely than other pollinating elements, such as the wind. Due to the shape of their elongated and thin body, they can reach flowers that robust bees cannot enter. This means that the wasps help the rest of the flowers to be pollinated.
• On a larger scale, wasps help the reproduction of plants, which allows the production of vegetables for our food security and that of other living beings that are part of the food chain.
• Furthermore, by contributing to more vegetation, they also indirectly help to provide oxygen, CO2 absorption, water reserve and habitat for multiple organisms.
• Finally, it is timely to know that wasps are important pest regulators. The adults usually prey on other insects to feed them to their young, which keeps communities in check without posing a problem. They play a biological control role that leads us to consider whether we should protect wasps.

Wasps mainly pollinate plants with open, easily accessible flowers, where they can easily reach the nectar. Some of the most notable are:

• Fig trees: thanks to the mutualistic relationship with fig wasps, these plants can reproduce.
• Specific orchids: some tropical orchids are exclusively adapted to being pollinated by certain wasps.
• Simple, small flowers: Wasps often visit flowers that do not have deep corollas or complicated structures, such as those of wild carrots, parsley, and other umbellifers.
• Fruit trees and shrubs with small flowers: although they are not the main pollinators, they can complement the work of bees and other insects.

In general, wasps are not as efficient because they do not have bodies as downy as bees, but their contribution is still valuable to floral diversity.

Every living being plays an important role in the ecosystem balance, including wasps. Now that we review the reason for their ecosystem importance, we can understand why they should also be protected.

There are fewer strategies for the conservation of wasps because they are not used by humans like bees to obtain marketable raw material, and they are not as popular in collective knowledge due to their strong stings, but they must be protected for the pollination ecosystem service they offer.

Now, it is important to note that wasps can become invasive, especially when they have been introduced outside their native range. An example of this is the Asian wasp in Europe that displaces honey-producing bees. These types of bees must be removed, as they threaten equivalent native species. As it can be difficult to identify them, it is best not to take action on them and leave it in the hands of experts. If you suspect that you have a swarm of exotic bees nearby, contact a company dedicated to it.

• Although adults are nectarivorous, wasps are classified as omnivores because the earliest stages of metamorphosis, that is, the larvae, are carnivorous.
• Only females have a stinger. Furthermore, not all of them have such a structure. There are some females that have an ovipositor, which are parasitic wasps that lay their eggs inside other organisms, and others have a stinger, which are social bees in which only the queen can lay eggs.
• There are wasps that can build their nests with mud that they make themselves, in the form of vessels. They are known as potter wasps.
• We can find social wasps, which live in a community, and solitary wasps, which raise their offspring in individual nests without the help of others.

What is the difference between pollination by wasps and bees?

Bees are much more efficient pollinators because their body is adapted to transport pollen: they are hairy and have specialized structures such as the corbicula (the pollen “basket”). On the other hand, wasps have smoother bodies, so they carry less pollen. Even so, when visiting flowers in search of nectar, they also perform pollination incidentally.

Do wasps make honey?

No, wasps do not produce honey. Some species can consume nectar and sweet foods, but they do not transform or store it as bees do. Social wasps, like common wasps, may store food for their larvae, but they never produce honey.

Why do wasps visit flowers if they don’t make honey?

Adult wasps need quick energy, and nectar is an excellent source of sugars. Additionally, while searching for this nectar, they can transport pollen from one flower to another, aiding in accidental pollination.

Are wasps aggressive when pollinating?

Generally not. When wasps are busy collecting nectar in flowers, they are less interested in attacking. However, they can become aggressive if they feel threatened or if they get too close to their nest.

How to attract pollinating wasps to the garden?

If you want to encourage biodiversity and attract pollinating wasps, you can plant open, easily accessible flowers, such as fennel, wild carrot, flowering parsley or native plants with small flowers. It is also important to avoid pesticides and offer natural shelters, such as bushes or areas with dense vegetation.

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