Latin: Clytus Arietis
At first glance, the wasp beetle may look a little scary. After all, it does its best to look like a wasp, but in short, the wasp beetle is totally harmless. The wasp beetle is one of many animals that mimic other, more dangerous animals with its appearance, as this can give it protection from predators and other dangers.
When one animal develops to resemble another animal or develops to be able to hide in its surroundings, it is called protectionism. The wasp beetle is just one of many beetles that try to mimic more dangerous animals, but the trained eye can see the difference.
The wasp beetle, also known as the Clytus arietis, is seen especially during the summer, when it can stray in through open doors and windows. If you live near deciduous forest, you should pay special attention to wasp beetles, as deciduous forest is their natural habitat. Adult wasp beetles can be found especially near flowers, but you can tell the difference between wasps and wasp beetles.
Appearance
A wasp beetle is also called a clytus arietis. They belong to the longhorn beetle family, which is also called cerambycidae. The wasp beetle can be recognized by its distinctive and sharp appearance. The wasp beetle can also be recognized by its black and yellow stripes that run across its elongated body. Similar to the animal it tries to imitate, namely the wasp, it has feeler horns and six legs, but it has no sting.
An easy way to spot the difference between the two animals is by noticing that the wasps’ stripes are more black than yellow, with the wasps being more yellow than black. In addition, the wasp beetle’s legs are longer, so it can crawl around more easily, where the wasp’s legs are shorter, so it can fly more easily. Finally, the wasp has its transparent wings on each side of the body, where the wasp beetle has no wings at all. Therefore, the wasp beetle cannot fly either, but typically stays near the ground.
Biology and behavior
Although the wasp beetle tries its hardest to look like a wasp, it is a beetle. The wasp beetle is thus neither aggressive nor dangerous, but it tends to restless behavior, which can seem annoying to the people who do not like beetles and similar small animals. Before they are fully grown, wasp beetles also undergo a larval stage. While they are larvae, they prefer to stay in dead, dry deciduous tree in which they have hatched. It is only as adult wasp beetle that dare to head for flowers.
Damage
In general, the wasp beetle is not harmful to humans. Wasp beetles do not thrive indoors, so it is unlikely that you will spot them in your home. One of the ways in which multiple wasp beetles can enter the home is by having their eggs enter via a firewood stack. Like so many other beetles, the wasp beetle lays eggs where it is safest. The wasp beetle therefore specifically chooses dry hardwood to lay its eggs in. The deciduous tree should also preferably be dead, and therefore you can sometimes find wasp beetle eggs in its firewood stacks.
Prevention and pest control
Wasp beetles are not dangerous to have in the home. They do not attack humans, nor do they damage woodwork or the like in the house, as they do not make a living from eating wood. If you spot wasp beetles in your home, they are most likely just hatched from their eggs on your firewood. If this is a nuisance to the residents, you can always minimize how long you have your firewood inside. By having its firewood lying inside the wood stove or fireplace for a shorter period of time, there is significantly less likelihood that various beetles and other small crawlers can crawl free of the firewood pile and out into the rest of the home.
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"Food Pests"
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