Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
22nd August 2020
Waspish Behaviour
As fruit trees start to deliver, windfalls increase – and so do the wasps. Or they seem too. Research shows that they are actually at their most prolific during the last two weeks of July – coinciding nicely with picnics and barbeques being at their most prolific too.
I rather infamously shared my ‘wasp whispering’ skills on Radio Wales a few years ago – and haven’t really been asked back with any regularity since!
Six years ago I went to Damanhur, in Italy, and learned (amongst many other things) that insects understand the difference between ‘yes’ and ‘no’. Whether it’s an energy thing or intention nobody could tell me. But I was intrigued enough to come home and try it out for myself. As if on cue, wasps had built a large nest right at the entrance to my tool shed, a shed I used every day. I read them the riot act, basically telling them very firmly that if they left me and my dog alone, then they could stay, but the minute they stung one of us, I would destroy the whole nest and any other wasp I came across. I repeated this most days – until I got bored – and went in and out of that shed, under their nest, every day that summer without getting stung.
I did the same thing the following year, as they had relocated nearer to the house, with the same positive results – and was convinced. It appears the listeners to Radio Wales were not.
I have stuck to my beliefs ever since, and even when I actually stepped on a wasp’s nest last year, I didn’t get stung. By way of reciprocation, I haven’t killed a wasp since visiting Damanhur.
And as an aside, Chris Evans actually talked about something similar – asking ants to leave a house – on Radio 2 a few years after my insect whispering began. Take note Radio Wales.
Anyway, at this time of year, I don’t think wasps are any more prolific but it’s their attitude that makes them seem that way. I think they are just more annoying and appear to looking for trouble. And here’s why:
The annual cycle of the wasp begins in the spring when a single queen wakes from hibernation to build a nest, where she will lay her eggs. The eggs hatch into sterile females, or workers, which then increase the size of the nest and look after the larvae. All the queen does from then on is lay more eggs. By July she will have produced enough female worker wasps to take over the maintenance of the nest and feed the eggs, and so in the autumn, those eggs develop into males (known as drones) and fertile females. And that feat alone should make you respect a wasp!
They then leave the nest and mate. The fertilised females become the new queens and hibernate until the next spring … and here’s the thing … the founder queen, the males and all the workers die and the original nest is made redundant.
So basically, at the end of the summer, all the wasps, apart from the ‘new queens’, are jobless, homeless and face certain death. Now if that’s not a good enough reason to go out and get drunk on windfall fruit I don’t know what is.
And not surprisingly, some want to fight. They’re angry. Wouldn’t you be?
So the best thing to do, is not wave your arms around and look as though you are accepting the invitation to fight, but to treat them to a dish of something very sugary (beer, pop, or just sugar water) out of your way – and harm’s way – and let them enjoy their twilight days peacefully.
Point of View
I have a large white buddleia in front of the cottage, which I prune enthusiastically every spring and which cheerfully regenerates to block a substantial amount of my view by late summer.
A friend visited recently and immediately commented, “Why don’t you cut that bush down, (she’s not a gardener) it’s blocking the view?”
I pointed out that there were actually 18 butterflies feeding on it at that particular time, as well as bees, too numerous to count.
“Yes, but if you cut it down, they’ll just go somewhere else,” she persisted.
“And what if everyone thought that?” I asked.
And therein lies the problem, in my opinion. It’s because people think ‘that won’t matter’ that we have far less bees, butterflies and happy, healthy wildlife around in general. It does matter. It matters to them.
I do cut the buddleia back when it has finished flowering – and prior to its proper hard spring haircut – so I do have my view for the majority of the year. And for the few months when I can’t see the mountains, I enjoy the view of the visiting bees and butterflies instead.
Rainbow Daze
The recent weather can only be described as ‘menopausal’ – hot and cold, with thundery outbursts; extremely changeable and totally unpredictable.
But it has been great for rainbows.
Rainbows are formed when light shines through water, normally rain, but they can happen wherever light is being bent inside of water droplets. Therefore they can be seen in mist, fog, spray, and even dew – and you can make your own (Google it). Everyone loves a rainbow and I have always been fascinated by the fact that no two people see the same exact one, since it all depends on how the light is being bent and reflected back to you.
And as a friend observed, “Weekends are just like rainbows – they look great from a distance but when you get close they just disappear.”
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