LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The other day, I was at an interview in a newer development in North Las Vegas - and I was interrupted by a giant wasp, a certain kind of nightmare fuel, nicknamed the "Tarantula Hawk."
After doing some research, I learned the Pepsis Wasp is actually a pretty infamous insect. It has one of the most painful stings known to man, can grow up to the size of a hand, wingspan and all, and - although much smaller in size - is a natural predator to tarantulas.
Running away was pure instinct in the moment, but it got me curious: as Las Vegas grows and people continue to move into the Desert Southwest, what does it take to coexist with bees and wasps of all kinds?
“People are just naturally afraid of them. I had a fear of bees for many years, and the more I was around them, I realized that my fear, I lived with it when I shouldn't have. So I guess the more you learn about them and what they do, you'll be more at ease," said Pete Rizzo, co-owner of Vegas Bees. “Bees never have to be exterminated. They never have to be killed. Even defensive colonies could be re-queened.”
Rizzo runs a no-kill bee and wasp rescue business with his wife Betsy Lewis. They say a lot of times people just aren't sure what to do if they find a hive or swarm at their property.
“They usually have no idea. So they ask us, you know, should we save them? Is there a place for them to go?" Lewis told Channel 13.
Insect encounters may become more common with growth in Southern Nevada.
“If they do keep building like this, there's going to be no place for them. And everyone is like, well, I don't want them on my property. I don't want them in my backyard, but they have to live somewhere," Rizzo said.
To learn more, I checked in with the Nevada Department of Agriculture's State Entomologist Jeff Knight, and he said habitat loss is a big problem for pollinators like native bees and wasps.
“The biggest problem for our pollinators really is the destruction of habitat, and the loss of habitat we've seen. Just like with the Poppy Bee.”
Clark County is home to the Mojave Poppy Bee, which is currently under federal review for the Endangered Species List due to its critically low numbers. It's primary pollinat-ee is the Las Vegas Bearpoppy - a rare wildflower that's also seen habitat destruction.
WATCH: Las Vegas bearpoppy mural raises awareness for declining population
"We're going to keep moving out into their environment, and especially with the bees and wasps and things like the Tarantula hawk wasp, if we plant plants that are pollinator friendly and that have the nectar and the pollen that they're looking for, they're going to come in off of the native areas to search out that resource," Knight explained.
Tarantula hawks are meant to be in Nevada. According to Knight, they're just one species out of over one thousand of the native wasps and bees that live here. They serve as pollinators to milkweed, which serves as butterfly habitat. Everything in the ecosystem has a job to do!
"To maintain that diversity of plants, you’re going to want to maintain the diversity of pollinators," Knight said.
Pollinator protection is a crucial driving force for Vegas Bees.
“You got to keep the chain link together. Because, you know, wasps, yeah, for some people, they are scary. But how often do you actually see a wasp? You know, how many times have you been stung? We have to let them live because they're part of our whole ecosystem out here," Rizzo said.
Rizzo and Lewis both work as teachers for their day jobs - but education plays a big role in their rescues too.
"The bees are so important for us, and the more we work with them and see how intelligent they are, the more you fall in love with the bees," Lewis said.
"Wasps are actually good guys. What they do is they're predators for different species of bug and insect that will go to your garden and attack your plants and flowers. And they're they're a form of pest control," Rizzo said.
And don't worry! Tarantula hawks are mostly docile and solitary, they most likely won't bother you.
