Amy Toth of Iowa State University researches wasps.

My first thought was "Wow! Haven't seen a Polistes dominula nest for years!" (The last one I saw was hanging out on the lip of a trash can in a UC Davis parking lot; it vanished the next day.)

And the second thought: #wasplove," a hashtag coined on Twitter by Amy Toth of Iowa State University.

Back in May of 2015, Toth, now an associate professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology and the Department of Entomology, delivered a presentation on wasps at a seminar hosted by the University of California, Davis. As her website indicates, she's interested in the mechanisms and evolution of insect sociality, using paper wasps and honey bees as model systems. Current research projects involve de novo sequencing of paper wasp genomes and transcriptomes, comparative genomic analysis of Hymenoptera, genomic and epigenetic mechanisms regulating caste evolution, and the influences of nutrition and viruses on honey bee behavior and health.

Toth holds a doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where she studied with Gene Robinson, and also did postdoctoral work with Christina Grozinger at Pennsylvania State University.​

Wasps are pollinators and they attack pests of agricultural crops, Toth told the Department of Entomology and Nematology at her seminar. 

However, many folks we know just aren't fond of wasps. They're unwelcome guests in their yard, patio or picnic. See the information on "Yellowjackets and Other Social Wasps" on the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program website, which includes "Preferring to live in or near orchards or vineyards, they (paper wasps) hang their paper nests in protected areas, such as under eaves, in attics, or under tree branches or vines. Each nest hangs like an open umbrella from a pedicel (stalk) and has open cells that can be seen from beneath the nest. Sometimes white, legless, grublike larvae can be seen from below. Paper wasp nests rarely exceed the size of an outstretched hand, and populations vary between 15 to 200 individuals. Most species are relatively unaggressive, but they can be a problem when they nest over doorways or in other areas of human activity such as fruit trees."

We remember asking Toth to list what she loves about wasps.

Here's her list, as posted earlier on a Bug Squad blog:

1. They are pollinators 

2. They contribute to biocontrol of lepidopteran pests in gardens and on decorative plants

3.  They have been shown to carry yeasts to winemaking grapes that may be important contributors to the fermentation process and wonderful flavors in wine!

4. They are the only known insect (Polistes fuscatus) that can recognize each other as individuals by their faces.

5. They are devoted mothers that will dote on their young all day long for weeks, defending their families with fury.

6. Their social behavior, in my opinion, is the most human-like of any insect.  They know each other as individuals, and are great cooperators overall, but there is an undercurrent of selfishness to their behavior, manifest in nearly constant passive-aggressive interactions between individuals.

7. They are artists.  They make perfect hexagonal nest cells out of paper, which they make themselves out of tree bark + saliva.

8. They are extremely intelligent.  They're predators, architects, good navigators, and great learners.  Among insects, they have large brains, especially the mushroom bodies (learning/memory and cognition area of insect brain).

9. They are beautiful, complex, and fascinating creatures!

And my No. 10: they are quite photogenic.

Yes, they are.

It's National Pollinator Week. Do you know where your pollinators are?

If you're thinking bees, butterflies, beetles, birds (hummingbirds) and bats, you're correct.

But what about European paper wasps (Polistes dominula)? They're pollinators, too, says associate professor Amy Toth of the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, who researches wasps and coined the hashtag, #wasplove.

Several years ago she delivered an excellent presentation to our UC Davis Department of Entomomlogy and Nematology, and I later asked her 10 reasons why we should love wasps.

It's worth repeating:

1. They are pollinators.
2. They contribute to biocontrol of lepidopteran pests in gardens and on decorative plants.
3. They have been shown to carry yeasts to winemaking grapes that may be important contributors to the fermentation process and wonderful flavors in wine!
4. They are the only known insect (Polistes fuscatus) that can recognize each other as individuals by their faces.
5. They are devoted mothers that will dote on their young all day long for weeks, defending their families with fury.
6. Their social behavior, in my opinion, is the most human-like of any insect.  They know each other as individuals, and are great cooperators overall, but there is an undercurrent of selfishness to their behavior,
7. They are artists. They make perfect hexagonal nest cells out of paper, which they make themselves out of tree bark + saliva.
8. They are extremely intelligent.  They're predators, architects, good navigators, and great learners.  Among insects, they have large brains, especially the mushroom bodies (learning/memory and cognition area of insect brain).
9. They are beautiful, complex, and fascinating creatures!

That's Amy Toth's list. To that, I'd like to add one more: they are quite photogenic!

The European paper wasp, so named because of its European origin, is relatively new to the United States. Scientists tell us that the P. dominula was not recorded in North America until 1981. P. dominula was first discovered in the United States in the late 1970s near Boston, Mass.  Entomologists worry that it is displacing the native species of Polistes wasps.

Interestingly enough, last year at this time--this very date--European paper wasps were building a nest beneath the overhanging lip of a recycling bin near the Mann lab on the UC Davis campus.

And today they're doing it again. Same place. Same bin. Same spot.

Wrong place. Wrong bin. Wrong spot. It won't be there for long.

Close-up of a European paper wasp. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A sign on a recycling bin near the Mann Laboratory at the University of California, Davis, clearly reads "Bottles and Cans Only."

It says nothing about wasps.

But there they were: European paper wasps (Polistes dominula) building a nest yesterday beneath the overhanging lid of a bright blue recycling bin meant for "Bottles and Cans Only."

"They make open-faced nests under eaves all over the place," says Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and professor of entomology at UC Davis.

Associate professor Amy Toth of the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, who studies European paper wasps (she's also delivered several presentations at UC Davis) says she's seen "many interesting (nest) places— in mailboxes, under the caps of metal gas cylinders, on outdoor thermometers."

European paper wasps building a nest in a red box (meant to collect mosquitoes) at Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Classic!

They're also meat eaters. We've seen them shred adult Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) butterflies and caterpillars in our yard and fly off with the parts.

Since this is National Pollinator Week, it should be noted that European paper wasps are pollinators.

Take it from Professor Toth who loves her research subjects. It was she who coined and popularized the Twitter hashtag #wasplove.

For a previous Bug Squad blog, we asked what she loves about wasps. Her answers are worth repeating!

1. They are pollinators.
2. They contribute to biocontrol of lepidopteran pests in gardens and on decorative plants.
3. They have been shown to carry yeasts to winemaking grapes that may be important contributors to the fermentation process and wonderful flavors in wine!
4. They are the only known insect (Polistes fuscatus) that can recognize each other as individuals by their faces.
5. They are devoted mothers that will dote on their young all day long for weeks, defending their families with fury.
6. Their social behavior, in my opinion, is the most human-like of any insect.  They know each other as individuals, and are great cooperators overall, but there is an undercurrent of selfishness to their behavior,
7. They are artists. They make perfect hexagonal nest cells out of paper, which they make themselves out of tree bark + saliva.
8. They are extremely intelligent.  They're predators, architects, good navigators, and great learners.  Among insects, they have large brains, especially the mushroom bodies (learning/memory and cognition area of insect brain).
9. They are beautiful, complex, and fascinating creatures!

That they are. However, they have never been known to read or adhere to "Bottles and Cans Only" signs--or stay away from donation boxes filled with paper bills.

Monarch butterflies aren't the only insects that hang around milkweed, their host plant.

You're likely to see a variety of predators, such as the European paper wasp, Polistes dominula.

This paper wasp is a little skittish around paparazzi so it helps to use a long macro lens, like a 105mm or a 200mm,  that will allow you to get eye to eye, or nose to antennae.

It's a meat eater, and a voracious one at that. We've seen it shred caterpillars and attack newly emerged butterflies.

Unlike yellow jackets, "European paper wasps are not scavengers," says Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and a professor of entomology at UC Davis. "They only take live insects, particularly caterpillars."

Their menu also includes aphids. "For these wasps, meat is meat," Kimsey said. "Aphids are great because you get steak and dessert at the same time."

One of the scientists who studies European paper wasps is Amy Toth of the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, who coined and popularized the Twitter hashtag #wasplove. We've heard her deliver several presentations at the University of California, Davis, and we once asked her to list what she loves about wasps. Her answers are worth repeating! (See more information on a Bug Squad blog)

1. They are pollinators 
2. They contribute to biocontrol of lepidopteran pests in gardens and on decorative plants
3. They have been shown to carry yeasts to winemaking grapes that may be important contributors to the fermentation process and wonderful flavors in wine!
4. They are the only known insect (Polistes fuscatus) that can recognize each other as individuals by their faces.
5. They are devoted mothers that will dote on their young all day long for weeks, defending their families with fury.
6. Their social behavior, in my opinion, is the most human-like of any insect.  They know each other as individuals, and are great cooperators overall, but there is an undercurrent of selfishness to their behavior,
7. They are artists. They make perfect hexagonal nest cells out of paper, which they make themselves out of tree bark + saliva.
8. They are extremely intelligent.  They're predators, architects, good navigators, and great learners.  Among insects, they have large brains, especially the mushroom bodies (learning/memory and cognition area of insect brain).
9. They are beautiful, complex, and fascinating creatures!

And to that, we add: European paper wasps are quite photogenic--just don't move around like paparazzi.