The Brookhaven police officer who ran into a big nest of yellow jackets on Wednesday while he and his K-9 partner were chasing a suspect is home from the hospital, and the dog is home from the vet.
The venomous insects stung Officer John Ritch about 50 times, on the inside of his mouth and nose, on the back of his head and up his pantlegs and shirtsleeves. Grizz, a Belgian Malinois, did not fare any better.
“The bees had pretty much covered his muzzle, and they were having to use their hands to pull them off his head,” Brookhaven police Sgt. Donald Chase said Friday.
Both the officer, who was released from the hospital Thursday, and his dog are resting, if not comfortably, at home, Chase said.
The Brookhaven police said on Wednesday that Ritch had a strong reaction to the stings that affected his breathing, and other officers took him to Grady Memorial Hospital without waiting for an ambulance. Ritch and Grizz had joined the search for a hit-and-run suspect who had taken off on foot after ramming a police car. It was during that pursuit, in woods near North Druid Hills Road and I-285, that two came across the yellow jackets. As we'll see in a moment, they provoked the wasps at probably the worst time of year.
Yellow jackets resemble bees but are actually wasps. They can sting repeatedly — unlike honeybees, which may only sting once and usually die in the act — and are extremely aggressive when disturbed.
The AJC contacted the head of the entomology department at the University of Georgia to ask about yellow jackets and how they behave. Professor Raymond Noblet said the wasps are social creatures whose nests grow throughout the summer and, if conditions are favorable, may contain hundreds or even thousands of individuals by mid-September. And they do kill other undesirable insects and spiders, Noblet said.
But yellow jackets don’t make honey and don’t do much pollinating of fruits or other crops. Their chief occupation, as far as most people are concerned, is to come after you in swarms when you make them mad.
Yellow jacket attacks are sometimes fatal, either because they attacked in overwhelming numbers or, as is most often the case, because the victim was severely allergic to the wasp's venom.
In email exchanges, Professor Noblet answered a number of questions about the yellow jacket. Here are some highlights:
Q. What are some hallmarks of their behavior? How many wasps will congregate in one nest, and why do they so congregate?
A. Some species nest in the ground and others build nests above ground out of a paper-like material. In late summer and early fall, a colony may contain very large numbers of individuals. They respond quickly and viciously when their nests are disturbed. Yellow jackets are social insects. The colony is started in spring by the queen who overwintered, and if conditions are favorable the nests can be very large by mid-September. They are congregated because of their social behavior and the fact that being present in large numbers is a survival advantage.
Q. Are they are able to sting repeatedly? Is the sting venomous?
A. Unlike bees they may sting more than once. Part of the issue is they are usually so many of them that they may seem to be stinging more times than they really are. The sting is venomous, and the pain and stinging sensation is mainly from the venom. The mechanical puncture caused by the stinger causes some pain, probably similar to receiving an injection.
Q. Are yellow jackets any more prevalent in this region now than, say, 10 or 20 years ago? If so, what's behind their rise?
A. Insect populations are often cyclic and populations will be higher in some years when conditions are favorable for their development; for example, plenty of food resources, normal rainfall etc.,
Q. Is there anything the average homeowner (or police officer) can do to recognize a ground nest before actually disturbing it and provoking an attack?
A. There isn't much you can do. However, if you see yellow jackets flying around and seemingly congregating, you can usually see them enter a nest opening under a clump of grass, a rock etc.,
Q. How can you destroy a nest in a way that's both effective, safe to you and environmentally acceptable?
A. There are number of products, such as those for wasps, that are readily available in a supermarket or building supply store and that can be sprayed into the opening from 10 to 20 feet away. However, if you do it yourself, you run the risk of being stung, and if you suspect that it is a large underground nest, or especially if you are allergic to stings, you should contact a pest control professional.
Q. What is the yellow jacket's impact or value in the eco-system? Are they, like bees, big pollinators, for example?
A. Yellow jackets play a very minor role in pollination and to my knowledge are of no significance in pollinating fruit orchards or other crops. They are predaceous on many insect species, spiders and other similar small organisms. Many of the insects they prey on are pests of ornamental plants or crop plants such as vegetables, and for that reason yellow jackets are ecologically important. (Does not apply to Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.)
[Speaking of which, the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech weren’t named for the wasps, at least not initially. Tech’s website reports:
Historians say the name, spelled as one word, was first used to describe supporters who attended Tech athletic events, dressed in yellow coats and jackets. The actual mascot was conceived at a later date, still undetermined.
So, presumably, Buzz the Yellow Jacket had a yellow jacket before he had a buzz.]
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