Predatory wasps are the most misunderstood and overlooked flower-visiting insects. Heather will highlight wasp diversity, nesting strategies, prey specificity, and their dependence on native plants in this fascinating presentation. Wasps provide essential ecosystem services including pest insect population control and plant pollination—services that directly or indirectly benefit humans. Native bees are essentially hairy wasps, and predatory wasps and bees share many similar behaviors and nesting strategies. Predatory wasps feed their offspring invertebrates (insects and spiders) while bees feed their offspring plant-based food (pollen and nectar). Flower-rich, native landscapes are essential for both adult bees and wasps because they each rely on floral resources as a primary food source. In addition, wasps search for their insect prey in these diverse landscapes.
The webinar, to be held via Zoom, will be 45 minutes including a question and answer session. The webinar will be recorded, and sent to all registrants as well as posted to our YouTube channel.
Cost: Free
Heather Holm is a biologist, award-winning author, and pollinator conservationist. She is the author of Pollinators of Native Plants (2014), Bees (2017), and Wasps (2021). Heather’s expertise includes the interactions between native pollinators and native plants and the natural history and biology of native bees and predatory wasps occurring in the Midwest and Northeast.
You can find her books in our online shop here.