Nasty wasps swarm
Maui park
WAILUKU >> Haleakala National Park officials are warning the public about an unusually high number of Western yellow-jacket wasps in certain camping and trail areas.
Raina Kaholoaa, a park biologist, said people have been stung while riding horses, and one person was stung at the summit.
Kaholoaa said the Western yellow-jacket wasps are more aggressive than honeybees or the wasps that live in paperlike nests attached to houses.
She said that she was uncertain what caused a jump in the number of wasps but that a similar increase in the wasps occurred in 1999, when there was a dry summer.
Areas where wasp numbers are extremely high include the base of Sliding Sands trail (3.9 miles down) at the trail junction to Halemauu Trail where the horse tours normally stop, and at the Kapalaoa Cabin.
Resource managers are trying to control wasps in the heavily visited areas, park officials said.
The wasps eat other insects as well as food from human beings. They are attracted to water, meat, sweets and sweet-smelling perfume, cologne and sunscreen, park officials said.
These aggressive insects may swarm around people who stop for a snack or a meal and may sting without warning.
Unlike some bees that sting once and die, wasps sting repetitively, and more than one wasp may attack at the same time, park officials said.
Visitors to Haleakala National Park are asked to take necessary precautions and to carry their prescribed medications if they visit the park. They also might consider not visiting problem areas.
