Invasive wasps threaten South African ecosystems: what the public can do to help stop the spread

An Asian hornet invasion would be disastrous for South Africa. Ivan Vieito Garcia

The sight of a swarm of wasps, or even just a single wasp, strikes fear into many people’s hearts. Most wasp species aren’t dangerous to humans (unless you’re allergic), but their stings are painful.

Some wasp species can wreak havoc in other ways, though. Take the family Vespidae, which includes more than 5,000 species. Of those, about 700 are social wasps, meaning they live in groups, with nests containing anywhere between 25 and 7,000 wasps.