[John Mason]

It's amazing what superhuman strength can be attained when those buggers are on a mission!

Cheers - John

[Fujita5]

Colchester zoo was a nightmare yesterday, thousands of wasps milling round trying to get in on the sugary treats the fat parents were shoving down their fat kids' necks while the fat grandparents sat wheezing in their mobility scooters with ice cream dripping off their 4 chins. Wasp heaven. At least many of the younger parents were smoking around their kids' prams which kept the wasps fairly dosile....only saw one stinging incident, young boy in a pram who had been parked right next to an overflowing litter bin.

[Englishgent]

Hope you dont mind me adding a couple of pics of asian hornets. I would say they are probably at least twice the size of anything in the UK but the good thing is they are not aggresive like the UK wasps. They do /can sting but they dont bother you by 'buzzing' you etc. They are more interested in either flowers, or things like meat in the open markets here. I have learnt to just ignore them which is something you certainly cannot do with Uk wasps. ( I blame Noah. He had the chance to squish those two wasps, along with the mosquitos, but he didnt!) :)  Oooops...Attachements must be under 100Kb and I cant reduce them below 113Kb....sorry :(  Will keep trying and add if I get anywhere

[Englishgent]

Managed to reduce further. not sure what happened last time! :)

[Modo]

Busy wasps devouring a dead slug. It took some effort to get the shot. They were in a very determined "No Publicity" frame of mind.

[Englishgent]

Brave man Modo,,,,great shot :)

[Nigel Bolton]

I have not seen so many wasps since the hot summer of 1995. I have two nests in my garden, one I have located, another I cannot find as is in a small 'thicket'. Nevertheless, they are everywhere, and are starting to become aggressive. My little son was stung by one yesterday. At 17 months, he thought it would be a good idea to stand on one whilst with bare feet. His foot soon swelled up involving a quick trip to the local A and E, lest he should et anaphalactic shock - it was his first sting.

Some liquid piriton, and he is now fine - thnk goodness.

N. 

[John Robert Mellor]

Bloody plenty of the buggers around here at lunchtime...even in the pub !!! None of them managed to get to my speccy hen though !!

[Paul Sherman]

When I went to Arizona on the 15th August there were little to no wasps around SE Essex but upon my return a few days ago there are loads of them buzzing around and making a nuisance of themselves. Interestingly did not see 1 Wasp or Bee for that matter in Arizona when the Temperature was between 110-115f every day, it cant be the heat that brings them out ??

Paul S

[Nigel Bolton]

Found another nest. That's three.

N.

[rosskesava]

For a reason I don't know, every year at about this time, I see lots of wasps flying around walls, buildings, etc, as if they're looking for something and they seem to keep going around the same little area for ages in a sort of calm relaxed manner.

I'm a window cleaner and often a wasp will show a keen interest in the small'ish hole where the rungs are on the side of the ladder(s) and will crawl inside it and often stay there for sometimes upto 20 or 30 minutes, even if the ladder is moved, before flying off. Frequently, while up a ladder window cleaning a wasp will fly around me for a while sometimes only inches away from me almost as if I am being examined. Funny thing is, it doesn't seem to happen at ground level.

Over the years I've got to know that this happens at the end of summer and some years it's a bit earlier and sometimes a bit later. I've also got to know that wasps don't sting when they're doing that no matter how close they get whereas in a few weeks time, they will. When the wasps start getting 'stressy' and fly in jerky moements, I take it to mean autumn is well underway and usually for me, it means one or two or more wasp stings.

I've looked for explanations on the net and read some books about wasps and their habits but have never read or found anything that explains it but it's the same every year.

This post has been edited by rosskesava: 26 September 2011 - 23:51

[Bazmundo]

rosskesava, on 26 September 2011 - 23:45, said:

I've looked for explanations on the net and read some books about wasps and their habits but have never read or found anything that explains it but it's the same every year.

Hi Ross, found a better thread for your question.

There doesn't seem to be much out there to explain this behaviour specifically. I did come across some clues though.

They nest from Spring through to Autumn, but as the temps drop there are less larvae, which in turn produce the sugary feed for the adults. So they are more likely to be constantly agitated and have a go at your pint, jam butty or maybe just the smell of food/drink on your breath.

The explorations do sound like looking for nesting sites, so possible that they are more prolific in the countryside early in the year then encroach upon urban sites as more nests take more territory through the year? Queens don't hibernate well in mild winters, as they use up too much stored food too early, so maybe urban areas being milder kill off wintering Queens - hence maybe why they start off out in the countryside in Spring? The ones you get stung by could also be Queens looking for hibernating sites, as only the females sting*.

Just a guess, mind.

* if you really want to know how the sting works read this.

[Nigel Bolton]

During the summer, wasps tend to feed on insects and are therefore a benefit to the gardener. During the Autumn though, wasps become increasingly attracted to fruit, especially that which has become rotten and therefore has gone through a degree of fermentation. Wasps feeding on this are actually becoming intoxicated, and therefore get aggressive as a result, rather like some people do on Friday and Saturday nights or when on holiday in the Med.

Wasps crawling into cavities may suggest, that while intoxicated, they may be having trouble finding their way home, and will therefore find a sheltered place to sober up.

N.

[hotflyer]

We were fishing on Portishead Pier on Saturday and there were loads of them. One of the little beasties got into my shirt and I was stung. I still have an irritating small lump where it did it's dirty deed.

[Paul Corfield]

Nigel Bolton, on 27 September 2011 - 02:42, said:

During the summer, wasps tend to feed on insects and are therefore a benefit to the gardener. During the Autumn though, wasps become increasingly attracted to fruit, especially that which has become rotten and therefore has gone through a degree of fermentation. Wasps feeding on this are actually becoming intoxicated, and therefore get aggressive as a result, rather like some people do on Friday and Saturday nights or when on holiday in the Med.

Wasps crawling into cavities may suggest, that while intoxicated, they may be having trouble finding their way home, and will therefore find a sheltered place to sober up.

N.

Loads of wasps on the rotting grapes on my grapevine at the minute. Although the wasps are obviously drunk they fly so slowly and bump into everything that they don't seem to be being a problem. Lots of Red Admirals and Speckled Wood butterflies visiting the grapes too. I leave the fruit on the plant all through winter as a lot of birds come and visit when food is scarce.

Paul.