Full transcript
0:00Wasps... They're pretty annoying.
0:02But what would happen if all the wasps in the world just disappeared?
0:10Well, before you start celebrating,
0:12let's have a little look at some of the lesser-known wonders of wasps.
0:16If there are no wasps, it's not just the insect that would be lost,
0:19but a complex society with some surprising similarities to our own.
0:24All wasps have a role to fulfil -
0:26be it as a queen,
0:27or the wasp equivalent of a caretaker,
0:30a guard, or even a nanny.
0:33They're also a lot smarter than we give them credit for.
0:35Some wasps can recognise each other's faces,
0:38so they know where they are in the hierarchy,
0:40and if they're friend or foe.
0:43And they can be trained to detect explosives and illegal drugs.
0:47Wasps are a key predator, and the loss of any predator
0:50would have a huge knock-on effect on the ecosystem.
0:53This is because wasps protect plant life, crops, and other creatures
0:57from spiders, millipedes, flies, caterpillars, aphids, and much more.
1:02In fact, they catch around 14 million kilograms worth of insects
1:06every year in the UK alone,
1:08most of which they take home to feed their young.
1:10So without wasps, you'd see many plants left unprotected,
1:14and a big rise in the number of uninvited creatures in your home.
1:18The bee population has gone down significantly over the past 30 years
1:22because of pesticides, changes in land use, and climate change.
1:26Wasps face a similar threat -
1:28they just don't capture the public imagination in the same way.
1:31Studies show people associate bees with more positive, cuddly imagery -
1:35like honey, flowers, and pollen.
1:37While wasps evoke more negative terms - like stinging, pain, and rage.
1:42But this is unfair
1:43because wasps perform many of the same functions as bees
1:46and wasps are crucial pollinators too.
1:48In fact, if wasps didn't exist,
1:50we'd lose over 100 different types of orchids and figs too.
1:54That might not sound like a big deal,
1:56but every species of fig relies on its own species
1:59of pollinating fig wasp for fertilisation.
2:03In turn, more than 1,000 tropical birds and mammals depend on figs -
2:07and therefore wasps - to survive.
2:10There are thousands of species of wasps out there,
2:13most of which go about their business quietly.
2:15And only 1% of these are the type that buzz around your picnic.
2:19The most off-putting feature of the wasp is its ability to sting,
2:23but that sting has some interesting features.
2:25It contains a toxin,
2:26which lab studies suggest could have anti-cancer properties.
2:30So wasps have a lot to offer.
2:32By the time they're out and after your ice cream,
2:34they're in the last throes of their life,
2:36which is only two weeks to a month long.
2:38Because when the queen has no more need for them they have to leave -
2:41confused, jobless, homeless, and desperate for a sugar fix.
2:46So let's give the wasps a break.
2:48After all, without them we'd have more pests,
2:50less biodiversity, and more global food insecurity.
2:54So as much as it's our instinct to panic
2:56and flap our arms whenever we see them, don't.
2:59Stop and watch them
3:01and see just how amazing these disliked,
3:03and wildly under-appreciated insects actually are.
3:10Thanks for watching.
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3:15See you again soon!