Notes on the Apache Wasp1 in California

Abstract

Fig growers in the vicinity of Fresno, Calif., have reported injuries to harvest workers by wasps that build their nests in the fig trees. Stinging of workers is especially likely to occur in September and October, when the trees are shaken with long-handled hooks or are jarred with padded bumping poles to dislodge the figs. At that time the wasp colonies are large, and because the daytime temperatures are still high, the insects are active and aggressive when disturbed.