wizardhecker:carrydeckcrane706:new hobby: editing anti-wasp memes to be pro-wasp. spreading my waspa

wizardhecker:

carrydeckcrane706:

new hobby: editing anti-wasp memes to be pro-wasp. spreading my waspaganda 

I wanted to add an extra fun fact to that last meme of “I pollinate, make honey, and generally am a nice guy” which is that Wasps also pollinate AND make honey AND are generally a nice guy :)

Thats right. Not only are they important pollinators to many many plants, but Paperwasps (Polistes annularis) actually make honey as well. Theyre a lot harder to access than honeybees, but it is edible by humans if you ever want to crack open a nest to give it a go. There are several other species of wasps globally that also make honey as well!

Also, to be taxanomically pedantic, bees actually arewasps. They are a branch off of the wasp superfamily Apoidea and are considered “vegetarian wasps”.

This is the second post I’ve seen about how how hymenopterans are “actually wasps”. I really need to clear this up as a bee scientist because it is so so incorrect.

Bees are NOT wasps, ants are NOT wasps. 

Wasps are not a monophyletic group, they are a paraphyletic grouping, so I think this is why so many people are getting confused. I can go into a long explanation as to why, but for now don’t post if you’re not 100% sure!