14 replies to this topic

[Flu1d]

Hello to all of the people interested enough in bees and wasps to read this post! I was curious, who is an expert on bees/wasps on this forum, if anybody? The reason I am asking is because I am extremely interested in learning more about bees and wasps and potentially even keeping them. If anyone on Formiculture feels confident enough to answer some questions then I would love to hear from you and I am sure others may learn from this thread as well!

Pictures for attention, this is a Vespula squamosa queen I found while digging for termites one day a while back and one of the main reasons I got interested in wasps (been interested in bees for ages):

[T.C.]

I kept wasps back when I was in high school. I stopped after getting stung and almost dying. They are interesting to observe though.

[ANTdrew]

I’m decent at ID’ing bees, at least to genus. Dr. Snelling is probably the closest thing to an expert on here. As for actually keeping wasps, that’s a whole ‘nother can of worms.

[Flu1d]

I'm just curious about ways to keep them. I'm willing to buy a nice bee suit to minimize damage if that's even necessary (maybe at first to gain my confidence and get better, making less mistakes).

Edited by Flu1d, January 28 2023 - 5:07 PM.

[VenomousBeast]

I've tried keeping vespula as well. My suggestion is dirt. They make their nests underground. Also, a huge terrarium! Like the ones for chameleons, super tall, add dirt to the bottom of about 6-10 inches. Moisten it to where it holds together but isn't mud. Then add a wooden platform on top. The idea is that she will see the wood as a natural rock (which is where they tend to start their holes in the wild) and she will dig under it and start her nest. Also, add LOTS of different types of wood for nest building. Add a place to feed her sugars and meats. They aren't super picky so that's good. Once she's started her nest, you can do a couple of things, you can leave her be, lift the wood platform with her nest and everything on it to the upper parts of the terrarium, or if she hasn't built it on the wood, you can change the wood out for a plexiglass sheet to have easy viewing! Hope this helps!!

[Flu1d]

I've tried keeping vespula as well. My suggestion is dirt. They make their nests underground. Also, a huge terrarium! Like the ones for chameleons, super tall, add dirt to the bottom of about 6-10 inches. Moisten it to where it holds together but isn't mud. Then add a wooden platform on top. The idea is that she will see the wood as a natural rock (which is where they tend to start their holes in the wild) and she will dig under it and start her nest. Also, add LOTS of different types of wood for nest building. Add a place to feed her sugars and meats. They aren't super picky so that's good. Once she's started her nest, you can do a couple of things, you can leave her be, lift the wood platform with her nest and everything on it to the upper parts of the terrarium, or if she hasn't built it on the wood, you can change the wood out for a plexiglass sheet to have easy viewing! Hope this helps!!

This is actually super useful info! I put that lady back where I found her because I knew I wasnt ready QUITE yet, however with this new info I am much closer to being ready if I do pursue that route!

I really appreciate the reply, friend! Have an awesome night!

Edited by Flu1d, January 28 2023 - 5:10 PM.

[United-Ants]

I'm just curious about ways to keep them. I'm willing to buy a nice bee suit to minimize damage if that's even necessary (maybe at first to gain my confidence and get better, making less mistakes).

 Vespula squamosa are a parasitic sp  there host sp are Vespula maculifrons and Vespula vidua many colony's start in may or june and that is when they attact the host nest 

about 85% of colonies begin in this parasitic takeover, while only 15% of colonies are independent

most nest are  annual some can over winter  hope this helps 

[Flu1d]

I'm just curious about ways to keep them. I'm willing to buy a nice bee suit to minimize damage if that's even necessary (maybe at first to gain my confidence and get better, making less mistakes).

Vespula squamosa are a parasitic sp there host sp are Vespula maculifrons and Vespula vidua many colony's start in may or june and that is when they attact the host nest
about 85% of colonies begin in this parasitic takeover, while only 15% of colonies are independent
most nest are annual some can over winter hope this helps

This does a lot! I let this lady go after I found her, however if I ever find another I have more info now and I may give it a shot! If she is a parasitic species that can sometimes be independent, what do I do to make it possible for her to begin her own nest? If not possible, how do I go about finding her host species? What would they eat? Thanks again so much for the reply! If they aren't keepable, that's okay too. Its super cool just to learn about them.

Edited by Flu1d, January 30 2023 - 9:37 PM.

[Flu1d]

I have gotten some more advice from another person who has collected wasps. I want to share that information with folks in here just for the purpose of spreading information.

This is the first thing they told me.. Not so much advice, but a pretty cool tidbit of info: "I used to dig up Yellowjacket nests and put them in aquariums inside my greenhouse. They’d have a tube connecting them outside so I could observe them in safety. It was very cool. I wish I had pictures."

Next thing: "I always dug them up when the nests were already established. I hadn’t heard about queens being parasitic. You could find hibernating queens sleeping in holes or leaf litter during the winter. But they seem to develop into nests really quickly. I don’t think I used anything in the bottom of my aquariums. Just the glass. Id dig them out of the ground and put the nest pieces in a 5 gallon bucket. Even with my full bee suit, the swarms could be so massive that they’d find any gap or hole and get inside and sting me. It’s really quite a unforgettable sound being in the middle of an angry yellow jacket swarm."

^ Some of that convo may seem out of context, basically told him about other people's setups and he was telling me what he did as well as not being aware before that they were parasitic.

The last bit: "I’d put the bucket in a fridge for several minutes, so that they all slowed way down. I’d then move quickly to restack the nest layers. I’d make sure I found the queen. Seal up the aquarium, then connect their tube and enjoy!"

Now, I'm not 100% sure who, if anyone, this will help.. But if it does, there ya go!

[ANTdrew]

My life is fulfilling without that experience!

[Flu1d]

I planned on eventually getting a bee suit anyway for the large nuptial swarms at a blacklight, however the great thing is it would also be useful for whenever I decide to work with bees/wasps.

[Flu1d]

I’m decent at ID’ing bees, at least to genus. Dr. Snelling is probably the closest thing to an expert on here. As for actually keeping wasps, that’s a whole ‘nother can of worms.

Would this, by any chance, be the same Dr. Snelling that the Camponotus snellingi are named after? I never put 2 and 2 together until now, that would be super cool. Is he still an active member?

[Manitobant]

That species was named after his father, Roy Snelling. To my knowledge, Gordon doesn’t have any species names after him… yet.

Edited by Manitobant, April 9 2023 - 6:20 AM.

[Flu1d]

That species was named after his father, Roy Snelling. To my knowledge, Gordon doesn’t have any species names after him… yet.

Thank you for the reply! It's pretty amazing to see genius passed down from one person to the next, and to see the tradition moving forward.

[Flu1d]

I know that ants are technically off topic in this particular thread, however, the topic of Dr. Snelling and his father is relevant. Here are a couple pictures of the newest addition to my kept ants.. Camponotus snellingi.

I only posted both pictures because one focused more on her head, whereas the other was better focused on her gaster.





I hope Dr. Snelling finds this thread interesting enough to contribute to 😊