Warm spring temperatures waking up wasps in southern Manitoba

With remnants of the latest snowfall still visible on the ground, wasps have begun appearing in parts of southern Manitoba.

Entomologist John Gavloski is not surprised.

“Now that the weather is warming up the wasps will be emerging. What emerges early in the season is the queens," Gavloski says.

"It's not like bees where a lot of workers and a queen over-winter in a hive. With wasps, just queens are over-wintering. The workers have all died off from last year. Those queens will start coming out around now, and they're looking to establish this year's nest.”

Until these black-and-yellow insects find natural sources of sugar, they will go after any type of food, especially when it contains sugar.

Wasp populations peak in late summer, becoming more aggressive once flowers are gone.