"Nobody knows why these things have turned up all over Springfield, they always seem to turn up whenever something exciting happens. I don't know what they are, but violence is always an appropriate response in the face of the unknown."
Wasp Cameras are a type of camera disguised as a huge flying wasp which appear in every level of The Simpsons: Hit & Run, where they are spying on the citizens of Springfield. If you stand around a wasp for too long, it will prepare to fire an electric projectile from its stinger that will shock the player, making them drop 5 coins per each projectile hit. It's often best to avoid their attacks with fast circling movement and jumps. Anything that deals damage from a kick (usually from a jumping kick) or car impact will destroy them and make them drop a wad of coins.
There are always twenty wasps per level of the game and they have to be destroyed to give the player 100% on that level's Level progress screen. There are a total of 140 wasps throughout the game, and become tougher to defeat as the game progresses:
In Levels 1, 2 and 3 the wasps will shoot one projectile.
In Levels 4, 5 and 6, the wasps will shoot 3 projectiles in a volley instead of one.
In Levels 5, 6 and 7, the wasps gain a shield which makes them harder to destroy. From now on, you have to hit them twice to destroy them via first destroying the shield.
In Level 7, the wasps will shoot 5 projectiles at once in a volley, making it a lot harder to avoid them.
Upon collecting a wrench or a Collector Card, the wasp(s) will begin charging their laser. They also have 3 different A.I. settings:
Passive; only flying in certain exact areas that it's at. Neutral wasps will also become passive if you stumble upon a few passive wasps throughout the map each level.
Neutral; flying towards you in a strange formation and will only attack and pursue you if provoked, or collecting a Wrench, or collecting a Collector Card.
Hostile; will try to evade and pursue you no matter whatever while charging their shot. Passive wasps will stay in their location and shoot you. Level 7 wasps will also move very erratically to avoid getting hit upon their shield being taken down.
Interestingly enough, it is possible to have wasps shoot at nearby civilians, which will send them flying as if they were hit by a car. This can even apply to any NPC drivers in the player's primary vehicle should it be parked near a wasp, which can allow the wasp to shoot the driver out of their vehicle, but cause a glitch where the game will continue to register them as still inside said vehicle.
It is also possible for two or more wasps in close proximity of each other to shoot at themselves when positioned properly in between them; their own projectiles can both damage their shield and destroy any other wasps.
Wasps can be destroyed by running into them with a vehicle. However, the mechanics vary depending on how many wasps are destroyed via this method: any two wasps in a level can be destroyed by hitting them with a vehicle with sufficient force, however after this they lose collision and can not be hit with a vehicle. Leaving and returning to the level restores all collision with wasps. Level 1 is an exception to this as 3 wasps have collision.
If directly attacked with a vehicle, wasps will be destroyed in one hit even if they have a shield.
