Road wasps are stinging insects that are widespread throughout the world and are known for their "love" for spiders. They belong to the stinger suborder, the Hymenoptera family, and in total there are about 5 thousand species; especially concentrated in areas with a tropical climate.
In Russia, pompilides (as they are also called) there are about 300 species. The maximum diversity is represented on the territory of Central Asia, the Far East and Transcaucasia.
Road wasps and their descriptions
The body of road wasps is shiny and smooth, characterized by a black color interspersed with white, red or yellow. Stinging insects are easily recognizable by their thin, elongated limbs. Digging ridges can sometimes be observed on the front paws.
Hind tibia on the outside equipped with numerous denticles, most noticeable in females. The wings are dull, most often smoky in color. The abdomen of males is equipped with 7 visible segments, females have 6. The eyes are oval.
Features of existence
Road wasps (photo available inarticle) reach 40 mm in size, move quickly, while constantly fluttering transparent wings.
In search of food, they fly very close to the surface of the earth. They do not live in families, they prefer a solitary existence. Caring for the offspring consists in preparing a sufficient supply of food for future larvae. On the eve of laying eggs, females go out to hunt for prey, which are mostly spiders. Then the victim, paralyzed with a sting, is dragged into a previously dug mink in order to lay eggs on it.
Sometimes road wasps take over other people's holes with already prepared prey, for which they are called kleptoparasites.
Besides burrows dug in the soil, some females use tree trunks, strong plant shoots for laying eggs, they can sculpt clay nests on stones, branches, lower leaf plates.
One on one with a spider
Road wasps, which, unlike their other counterparts, have a powerful developed sting, mainly feed on spiders, most often several times larger than them. They are able to easily and instantly neutralize their prey, directing the sting first into the insect's mouth, and then to the point of accumulation of most of the nerve endings responsible for the life of the spider.
Types of road wasps
Road wasps, the description of which is recommended for everyone to know for their own safety, depending on the specialization in different groups of spiders, are divided into severalspecies.
In the middle zone of Eurasia, a red-bellied species is often found, the female of which is characterized by relatively small sizes, from 6 to 15 mm. Prefers to hunt the wolf spider. The chest is painted black, red in the anterior part, covered with short light hairs at the base.
On the territory of North Africa, extratropical Eurasia to the eastern part of Japan, the wasp-cross wasp is common; based on the name, he chooses cross-spiders as a sacrifice. It is characterized by a large, up to 21 mm in length, body covered with yellowish spots. The wings are also of a yellowish tint, framed at the edges by a dark border. The limbs are yellowish-orange. Nests for dragging prey are mainly built in the sand.
Dipogon medium. The road wasp, the bite of which leaves a lot of painful sensations and unpleasant memories, has a completely black color of a small, about 0.5-1.0 cm long body. A dark spot is clearly visible in the corner of the front wings. As a prey, the insect chooses side-walker spiders living on trees. Such insects got their distribution on the territory of Eurasia, towards the east to Japan and the coast of Kamchatka.
Road wasps: is the bite dangerous?
The benefit of such insects is to exterminate spiders dangerous to humans and destroy garden pests. Sometimes, in self-defense, a road wasp can sting a person. If an unpleasant event nevertheless occurred, you should immediately make sure that there is no sting left in the body of the affected sting. Removing itresidues should be done very carefully, using tweezers.
In order to avoid infection, it is absolutely impossible to cut, scratch the wound. The bite site must be treated with any antiseptic: alcohol tincture or hydrogen peroxide. For the speedy subsidence of puffiness, it is recommended to apply ice to the affected area through gauze tissue and constantly change it.
Effectively removes the consequences of contact with the road wasp by drinking a large amount of liquid: ordinary water or weak sweet tea. For allergic manifestations, antihistamines should be taken. Throughout the entire painful period, it is recommended to monitor the patient's condition and, at the slightest sign of deterioration (nausea, headache, dizziness), seek professional help from a medical institution.
The consequences of a road wasp sting in an adult are observed in the form of pain and swelling at the site of the lesion for 2-3 days. A great danger, up to the manifestation of purulent processes and anaphylactic shock, contact with such an insect carries pregnant women, children, the elderly, as well as patients with asthma, diabetes, allergies.
Methods of dealing with road wasps
The road wasps that settle next to a person's home are enough trouble. You can remove them by using special traps, aerosols and concentrates containing a universal insecticide. The most effective drugs:
- Aerosol "Moskitol". Not recommended for use in confined spaces due to toxicity.
- Gett. The period of action of such a powerful tool in and around the treatment site is about 6 months. The drug has low toxicity to humans.
After chemical treatment, the nest can be finally eliminated by deep digging, if the latter is in the ground.
From above, for reliability, it is recommended to pour boiling water over. With a local location, the nest can be placed in a bucket of boiling water and covered with a lid. Once the water has cooled, remove and discard.
Folk ways
From folk remedies in the destruction of wasp nests, bait traps have proven themselves well. To make, you will need a large plastic bottle and a glass of sweet, preferably sour compote.
The bottle should be cut in the middle, pour the prepared solution into the lower part and lower the upper half of the bottle turned upside down. Thus, road wasps, flying in, are no longer able to get out.
As a preventive measure to prevent wasps from entering your site, spoiled foods should not be accumulated in one place, allowing them to rot. Attractive for such insects is the aroma of flowering plants, so it is not recommended to plant them near the house.
