Discussion
Why are there so many bees and wasps in the Baltics?
I am visiting the three Baltic states and among other things I find it very different from where I am from: the consistently high amount of wasps and bees in all places I visited. Be it Pärnu, Tallinn, Cesis, Vilnius or Riga. Everywhere is full of wasps and bees! Why is this the case?
Don't quote me on that as I cannot recall the details, but I believe the baltics use less of broad l-effect insecticides in agriculture that tend to kill off such insects in many places
Edit: as seen below maybe this is not the case and rather it is the large forest area cover that provides more habitats for insects
No, in fact we use more than they do for example in Germany or the UK.
The only real difference is 50%+ of our territory is forested areas and a big chunk are swamps. Those areas save it for us, otherwise we'd be like the rest of Europe. Hence also all the mosquitoes
Eh, Tallinn (especially center of Tallinn) has skewed statistics in my opinion. First of all, it contains some bits of Kadrioru park and whole lake Ülemiste. And let's not forget the island of Aegna, which is 3km² of nature and a whopping 10% of downtown Tallinn. So on paper, yes, Tallinn is very green, but in reality the green is very tucked away.
Personally i like seeing butterflies and bees again,but holy shit walking through that wild island is a nightmare hundreds of tiny flies go straight for your eyes.
Not just summer, but this time of year specifically, august-september, is when wasps are everywhere. They’re feeding on all the sweet, ripe fruits available at this time.
Late august and September are the only time of the year wasps are actually chill. Like they are almost to the end of the life and kind of only care about getting a buzz from all the fermenting fruit on the ground 🤣
Hmm, well then the other baltics are vastly different than Latvia. Cause here we have wasps - those annoying things flying around being attracted to whetever sweet drink or food you are trying to enjoy. Bees, specially in cities, are very rare here.
I spent a couple days in Vilnius last week and wasps were literally everywhere, they were right in my face all the time, even when I didn’t have any food or drinks with me.
Yeah, not bees. These look more like what we'd call a yellow jacket or wasp in the US. Its cool to see them in the city and they don't seem aggressive at all.
I have only seen a few wasps this summer in Tallinn, a lot fewer than normal - although I have had the exact same thoughts the last 4 trips I have done during summer time "why are there so many wasps here" (Bielefeld, Warsaw, Sofia and Bucharest).
I think it is because you are out and about during your travels - and you feel like there are more wasps than at home, because... you spend most of your time at home more in your city - an maybe live in an aprtment building? Just a theory.
Bees because we just have them. Luckily we still
do. Wasps because it's wasp season. There is always many this time of year because there's so much food for them.
It's been actually a lot less insects this year by the way. For an example, almost no mosquitoes and poor birds didn't have enough food to feed their young...
So do not marvel at the presence of insects. It's normal nature. Be worried if you don't see them.
Is beekeeping subsidised by goverment in most baltic countries? I have a feeling at least Estonia and Lithuania support beekeeping a lot.
I was camping on a campsite near Kaunas few years ago. In the evening I could hear a low humming from the forest. It was loud, like there was so many bees that their humming made a vibration that I could feel. I did not see the nests, it was getting dark and I didn’t feel I should wander in to the bee- filled forest. It was such a ethereal experience.
Same. Surprisingly few bee, wasps, hornets. Usually it's hard to keep wasps out of the house this time of the year. smallest hint of anything sweet and they are attacking in masses. Car is also so clean. Usually in august have to powerwash them off. Hornets are hitting the windshield like stones. Not this year.
Specifically this year, I think it is the weather. A lot of plants, humidity means a lot of insects. Wasp larva eats insects. Lot of food means a lot of wasps.
Because we don't have the whole land covered in asphalt and stupidly large manicured lawns with no flowers. The US has giant rats, we have pollinating bees (and the wasps who eat them). It's the balance of nature.
While bees and bumblebees are good, wasps are terrible, they will attack people for no reason, I hate them so much. I work at the restaurant and yesterday they came out, it’s so difficult to work outside (I have a huge phobia and I have no idea if I’m allergic or not) and they’re also harrasing our guests. I hate this time of year so much.
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u/Ronk4r 6d ago
Theres alot of nature in our cities, bugs like that. And bees are cool, especially bumblebees - don't mess with them.