Wasps coming out of the Fiona woodwork on P.E.I.

If wasps seem to be more prevalent on P.E.I. in recent weeks, blame post-tropical storm Fiona.

Many of their homes, and those of other insects that live above ground, were destroyed among the countless number of trees and branched that shattered during the storm

Christine Noronha, a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Charlottetown, said people may not notice the impact on small insects, but wasps usually make their presence known.

"When the nest breaks, they don't have a place to go, so that's when you see them flying around, trying to figure out what to do now. Because their whole life is geared towards tending the nest and now the nest is not there."

The impact on other insects may not be noticeable until next year, because there may not be as many of them.

Noronha expects a high mortality rate in insects such as caterpillars that live within the trees or under the bark — especially trees that have been cut up and taken away in trucks.

"You'd also see an impact in some of the beetles, if they were in the larva stage … if they were in the adult stage you may not see as much of an impact."

The impact storms have on insects is "sad and interesting," and something scientists will be watching in the years ahead, Noronha said.

"If these storms keep recurring, you know, we have a lot of them, then you kind of observe…. Is this going to cause problems for the future for insects? Are there going to be fewer and fewer of certain insects and which ones are they causing damage to?"