Wasps include some of the most often-noticed, and least-noticed, insects in urban landscapes. Most people think of wasps as dangerous, but nearly all species of wasps have some value as predators of other insects. Only the social wasps (all paper nest makers) are potentially dangerous to people. Many wasps are tiny, some almost microscopic. These smaller species are mostly parasitic on other insects, including many pests. One of the reasons your garden is not continually overrun with insect pests is because of the many species of tiny beneficial wasps.

F@ctSheets on wasps

• Paper wasps, Yellowjackets and Solitary Wasps, E-239 How to recognize and control common Texas wasps.
• Velvet ants The ants that are really wasps.