Wasps

They cause discomfort to humans, especially if the nest is in a neighbourhood or close to a place where food is attractive to them (candy shops, gardens, open rubbish bins).
Wasps can also sting if they feel threatened, or if they become entangled in clothing or hair. The bite is very painful and dangerous for allergic people. A wasp can sting not once (like a bee) but many times.
Wasps contaminate food products and can carry some pathogenic micro-organisms.

There are three main species of wasps commonly encountered: Common wasp, Germanic wasp and Hornet. Common and Germanic wasps are difficult to distinguish and identify. Hornets are larger than the first two species and are the most common wasp species in Europe.
Wasps are community insects. A well-developed wasp colony consists of around 5 000 or more individuals.
In spring, a queen builds a 5⎯7-mesh nest of cellulose (wood, paper, etc.) and lays her eggs. The first female workers then hatch. The wasp nest dies at the first frost, except for the queen, which then overwinters in an attic (but not in the nest).
Wasps are only active during the day: the higher the temperature, the more active the wasps. Typical nesting sites: lofts, sheds, gaps, rain shelters on the outside of buildings (usually horizontal surfaces), cavities, etc. A queen can fly 30⎯70 km to find a nest site.
Wasps are characterised by a nest defence reaction: Irritation of a single wasp releases a danger pheromone and specific acoustic alarms. All wasps within 4.5 m of the site have the so-called nest defence reaction (aggressiveness).
Only females sting.
They seldom forage for food more than 200 m from the nest.
Food: in spring and summer, when larvae are fed, ⎯ protein-rich products (flies, mosquitoes, larvae of other insects), in late summer and autumn, when there is less need to care for the young, ⎯ sugar-rich products (floral nectar, honey, ripe fruit, beer, jelly, lemonade).