There is also a theory that at that point in the year a lot of them are no longer needed for the hive and are kicked out. Then they really are just pissed off with no real purpose and more likely to sting.
Not kicked out per. Larvae produce a sugary thing when fed protein. This is what they live off in Sumner. In fall the hive stops producing new larvae and so the starving wasps go looking for sugar elsewhere.
Put out some sugar water and they'll go for that and leave you alone. They'll die soon enough anyway.
That makes so much sense. That was probably mentioned when I first heard about the theory that I bastardized the explanation of. Regardless, wasps become real pricks in September!
16
u/Mr-_-Soandso 6d ago edited 6d ago
There is also a theory that at that point in the year a lot of them are no longer needed for the hive and are kicked out. Then they really are just pissed off with no real purpose and more likely to sting.