Wasps’ craving for sugar

THIS is the time of year when wasps become annoying, disrupting garden barbecues, country picnics, and the drinkers in the outdoor smoking area, writes Richard Collins

And for some reason, probably related to the weather, there seem to be more of them than usual this year. Wasps are unpopular but ecologically invaluable animals and to understand why they become annoying in late summer you have to understand their life cycle. And understanding it will also provide a few hints about what to do and what not to do when a wasp is annoying you.

The common wasp is a social insect but, unlike the honey bee, it hasn’t evolved a method of food storage to allow the colony to survive the winter. The only survivors are young, fertilised queens that hibernate and emerge in the spring to build small nests, about the size of a walnut, in which they lay 10 to 20 eggs. The queen feeds the larvae that hatch out until, usually some time in May, they become mature workers.