Wasp and Bee

Management on Grapes Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, PhD

NYSIPM Program, Cornell University

Photo by Davidh-j, Flickr.com

Wasps and bees

• Order Hymenoptera – ants, wasps, bees

• Most important group of insects to humans

• Nearly all wasps, bees and ants are

beneficial in some way

– Predators of other (unwanted) insects

– Pollinators of most types of plants, except

grasses.

– Ant tunnels aerate soils and allow water

penetration.

The problems with wasps and

bees • Females have a venomous sting that can

injure or even kill a person (rare).

• Sugar-hungry wasps and bees can cause

damage to fruit crops, including small fruits

and grapes.

• Late-season damage is caused and

exacerbated by wasp/bee feeding.

• No labeled pesticides for wasps or bees.

Damage from wasp feeding

OMAFRA Thomas Quine

Diagnostics – know what insect

you’re seeing

S. Ellis

D. Riggs

Purdue University

University of Wisconsin

Of concern to grape growers

• Yellowjackets

• Paper wasps

• Bald faced hornets

• European hornets

• Bumble bees

German and Eastern

yellowjackets

W. Cranshaw, Bugwood.org

Yellowjacket or honey bee?

• Do you carry one

of these?

Yellowjackets vs. paper wasps

1. Leg length

2. Shape of abdomen

Subterranean yellowjacket

colonies

• Rabbit, woodchuck, fox, rat

and mouse burrows

• Fence post holes

• Old stumps

• 2,000-5,000 wasps per

colony

Yellowjacket nest combs

Will be found:

• On buildings

• In shrubs

• In wall voids

• In unused equipment or

vehicles

• In greenhouses

• Attics

• Dead hollow trees

• Beneath AC units

Visible nest “ball”

What is the difference between these two?

Baldfaced

hornet

100-400 workers per colony

Baldfaced hornets are aggressive

• Images from

www.homegrownonahobbyfarm.com

Visible paper comb, no wrapping

• If you find a nest with

a visible comb, it is

paper wasps

(Polistes).

• Usually found in

protected areas,

eaves, under

flashing, under

porches, railings..

Nests are

not always

in protected

locations.

Polistes paper wasps

• Several dozen

workers per nest

at most.

• More nests per

acre.

• Aggressive when

bothered.

• Feed on soft-

bodied insects.

European Hornet – Vespa crabro

European hornet nest

• 200-400

workers per

colony,

typically.

• Nest in old

buildings or

hollow trees.

• Difficult to

locate.

European hornet compared to

the eastern yellowjacket

Could also be…

Cicada killer wasps

Could also be…

Ground-nesting

bees

If you find this:

Call a beekeeper!!

Early season foraging

• Heavily reliant on predation of other

insects.

Tom Murray – Bugguide.net

A. Hinterworth – Bugguide.net

Some social wasps are

scavengers

Kevin Bell, Leigh, Lancashire UK

Yellowjackets

Baldfaced hornets

European hornets

Late season

• Colony structure deteriorates as queen

declines.

• Food preference becomes solely sugar-

based for energy and survival.

Management of wasps

• Manage the crop to reduce injury that

attracts wasps.

• Locate and manage wasp nests in and

near the vineyard.

Management is dependent on

good IPM practices • Healthy grapes are less susceptible.

• Be familiar with varieties and vineyards

that are most susceptible to wasps.

– Certain locations may have more nests

– Old buildings

– Dead trees, stumps

– Wildlife burrows

• Work harvest dates around the most

susceptible vines.

Vineyard sanitation is key for

most pests

Good IPM practices

• Minimize injury to grapes caused by birds,

grape berry moth, powdery mildew and

bunch rots.

• Grape clusters should be picked as soon

as they ripen to discourage wasp feeding.

• Remove any overripe or damaged fruit

from the grapevines.

• Insecticides are not an effective

management option for wasps.

Honey bee

Manage wasps at the nest

• Scout early and often, activity is noticeable

in mid-summer.

• Destroy all nests that are found.

• Ground nests or void nests – DeltaDust

• Aerial or paper wasp nests – any aerosol

labeled for wasps (such as Wasp Freeze).

Managing paper wasps

• Early season management of nesting

(knock down) discourages nest building

later in the season.

A simple way to stop nest

building early.

A bit too silly?

Honey bee

Aerial nests can be tricky

• Can be very high in a

tree, still worth getting.

• Power washer or fire

hose water stream will

knock it down (wear

protective clothing!)

• If lower, a shop-vac

works well!

High capacity pressure washer

Vacuum a wall-void nest

Trapping wasps

• Trapping wasps may help lower the

damage on grapes.

• Trapping needs to be started early and

maintained through harvest.

• Commercial or homemade traps are

available.

• Early season – protein

• Late season – sweet liquids

Make a yellowjacket trap

• Plastic dish pan or wash

basin.

• A tablespoon of liquid dish

soap, preferably non-scented

• 3 sticks about 13 inches long

• 2 or 3 tie wires

• A 3 or 4 inch piece of wire

• 12 inches of string

• A piece of raw fish

This works early in the season

due to YJ attraction to protein

Soda bottle wasp trap

Fill with

• orange soda,

• cheap fruit punch,

• Mountain Dew,

• beer,

• pineapple juice

Clean it 3x/week!!

Honey bee

Perimeter trapping

Other management options

• Perimeter of building may have holes,

gaps, or a history of wasp/bee problems.

• Keep an eye out

while doing other

perimeter

treatments.

• Deal with activity

early in the

season.

Risks to workers

• Protective clothing for workers

• Always have an Epi-Pen available in case

someone reacts

• Consider mechanical harvesting

Pesticides

• Late season spraying is not feasible.

• No pesticides labeled for wasps on

grapes.

• Pesticide-laced baits are illegal and a bad

idea (non-targets, esp. honey bees).

Wasps carry local yeasts

• Our new field guide

“Wasp and Bee

Management; A

Common-Sense

Approach”

• Available at:

http://palspublishing.ca

ls.cornell.edu/

Questions?

• Contact us: jlg23@cornell.edu

• www.nysipm.cornell.edu

• Thank you!