Why do I hate wasps so much?
Almost everyone likes bees. Almost nobody likes wasps. The two are close relatives and both can sting, so the difference in how we feel is worth looking at.
The case against the wasp
The complaints are consistent, and they are mostly about manners.
- It comes to the table uninvited and will not leave.
- It stings for no reason, or so it seems.
- It can sting more than once.
- It does nothing useful. No honey, no point.
That last complaint is the interesting one. We forgive the bee its sting because it gives us something. The wasp, we think, only takes.
What wasps are actually like
- They are useful after all. A 2021 review led by University College London covered around 33,000 kinds of stinging wasp. They hunt the insects that eat crops, and they visit at least 960 kinds of plant, 164 of which depend on wasps completely for pollination.Source: University College London, 2021
- Some of them know each other by face. One North American paper wasp learns the faces of other wasps faster than it learns other patterns, much as people do with human faces.Source: Sheehan and Tibbetts, Science, 2011
What hating wasps can point to
Here is one way of looking at it, offered as a maybe. If it does not ring true, leave it.
The wasp defends itself at once and is not sorry afterwards. Plenty of people were brought up to believe that anger is ugly, that a good person swallows it and stays pleasant. If that was you, an animal that stings the moment it is crowded can feel like an insult. The dislike may be standing where your own anger would be if it had been allowed.
Then there is usefulness. We tolerate the bee because it earns its place. If you have always earned yours, by being helpful, being needed, never arriving empty-handed, then something that turns up, takes what it wants and offers nothing can make you furious. It is worth asking whether you believe you would still be welcome if you stopped being useful.
Some people recognise a person in the wasp: someone sharp, quick to hurt, impossible to relax around. In that case the question is simpler. It is about them, and about how long you put up with it.
Three questions to ask yourself
- When did you last want to sting, and what did you do with it instead?
- Do you feel you have to be useful to be welcome? Since when?
- Who around you gets angry freely, and what do you privately think of them?
Questions people ask
Why do people love bees and hate wasps?
Mostly because we know what bees do for us and do not know what wasps do. Bees give honey and are seen on flowers. Wasps are seen at picnics. In fact wasps pollinate too, and they eat large numbers of crop pests.
Do wasps do anything useful?
Yes. They hunt the insects that damage crops, and at least 164 kinds of plant rely on wasps alone for pollination, according to a 2021 review from University College London.
Is being terrified of wasps a phobia?
Being wary of something that stings is sensible, and if you are allergic it matters medically. If the fear keeps you indoors all summer or brings on panic, it has become a phobia, and a doctor or therapist can help you with it.
What can hating wasps say about me?
Perhaps only that you have been stung. It can also point to how you feel about anger, your own and other people’s, or to a belief that you have to earn your place. Notice which complaint about wasps you make first.