19.08.03
The
latest buzz says wasps aren't so bad!
People
will need to think twice about telling wasps to buzz off if they
heed the reasons that ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Wildlife Magazine specialist, Richard
Jones, gives for the insects invading late summer picnics.
For
in an article in the magazineÂ’s September issue (on sale from
today, price £2.90p), Jones explains that the wasps don’t
want to sting - they are simply trying to stave off starvation.
And,
he adds, the reason they are hungry is that theyÂ’ve spent a
busy season indirectly helping humans - by keeping down the flies,
aphids, and caterpillars which damage gardens and food crops.
According
to Jones, BritainÂ’s three most common varieties of wasp are
also the countryÂ’s most important insect-controlling predators.
Throughout the breeding season, they kill enormous quantities of
insects to feed to the grubs in their nests while they, in turn,
take nourishment from a sugary liquid secreted by the larvae. But
by September, the grubs have matured and gone. “Jam sandwiches
fill the nutritional void.”
Jones
says he once taught his five-year-old nephew to hold out a jammy
finger to study wasps in close-up - and earn admiring glances from
other picnickers. “Nearby diners were amazed by his courage,
but he knew the wasps were merely seeking an energy-filled food
and would only sting if flicked, flapped or otherwise irritated.”
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