yeah, nature does not owe you safety, which is why i kill wasps on sight because I'm part of nature. get fucked, wasps, we all know you're just fascist bees.
Paper wasps usually are fine unless you get too close. I opened up the old toolbox on my grandad's tractor (parked outside, lid slightly ajar) as a curious kid. I was greeted by angry buzzing followed swiftly by stinging.
I also have some on the outside of my carport where the roof overhangs a bit. I could harvest my peppers a couple meters below them without issue. Once I got a little close and one did the diving/swooping "sod off" manoeuvre, but otherwise never bothered me. Their nest got taken out by a typhoon a few days ago, however
Shitty wasps like Yellow Jackets give almost all the other wasps a bad reputation. Yellow Jackets are mean and spiteful, even when they aren't protecting their nest.
Most other eusocial wasps are pretty docile, unless you mess with their nest or really go out of your way to harass them.
In many parts of the world, like my own, there are far more species of solitary wasps than eusocial wasps. Solitary wasps are nearly all non-aggressive, they don't have communal nests to defend, and they basically don't have time to fuck around with stinging shit because they are too busy building a chamber for their eggs, collecting food for their upcoming progeny, and trying to stay fed and hydrated while doing it.
So what I'm getting at is that most wasps I encounter on a regular basis are pretty chill. Really, this goes for bees as well. Most of the ones I see on a regular basis are solitary types and non-aggressive. The most aggressive bees I tend to encounter are male carpenter bees. They are highly territorial and they'll even buzz a human to scare them off. However, there's no threat. Male bees and wasps cannot sting, they do not even have stingers.
Could a wasp be bred/altered to not have a sting, or at best not have a sting that can penetrate human skin? It's akin to domestication, but we selectively breed wasps to not be such cunts.
I stopped being scared of wasps after learning how to read their body language. Quiet buzzing and relaxed wings = calm, whereas loud buzzing and raised wings = mad. Plus, as long as you're not allergic, a sting is just temporary pain, which definitely isn't worth taking their life. Wasps are literally just animals, and we should be kind to them.
Pest control guy killed the wasps on my balcony without asking :/ I don't even use the balcony, they were just chillin. Now theres just a pile of corpses
I know they're important. I'm also afraid of them because some members of my family have had adverse reactions to stings from wasps. I would like wasps to live happy, happy lives far, far away from me.
I haven't killed a wasp in years. And that was only because it was building a nest inside my storm door just above eye level. Surprised the shit out of me because I barely saw the nest in the dark, struggled to change focus, and jumped back once I realized what I was seeing. Was not a fun encounter. It's like, buddy, nobody was gonna be happy with that arrangement.
Had one indoors the other day at work and someone noticed it and was bothered by its existence. I took a picture of it and the grabbed it to take it outside. Would have preferred to let it be, but worried others might hurt it :\
Polistes Dominula are just friendly neighbours who like to chill around you when you do stuff with water or food or like to "help" when you DIY. They also gather to cool down in shaded areas around noon. I've never seen the nest, maybe that's why they are so chill. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdzuoldCYHw