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wasps (or lack of them)
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Posted by SMILEYCAT NE28 7DY (My Page) on Tue, Aug 23, 05 at 7:43
I live just outside Newcastle,I was wondering if anyone else has noticed the distinct lack of wasps this year.Usually at this time we are plaqued by them and always have paper wasps at the bottom of the garden but not one single one of any species this year.
Bees on the other hand , there are hundreds,I grow lots of lavender and herbs and my garden is swarming with several varieties.
I've had a lot of butterflies too despite reading earlier posts that only cabbage whites are abundant. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: wasps (or lack of them)
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| There is no shortage of them around here (north Derbyshire)and bees too are in plentiful supply, although butterflies are notable by their absence. Our wasps must be on a building spree, they are grazing our teak garden furniture to make wood pulp leaving the surface rough and pitted, painting with foul smelling clear preservative only deters them for a day or two. If anyone knows of a good deterrant I would appreciate knowing about it. Perhaps I could leave a map in the garden clearly marked with the route to Newcastle. |
RE: wasps (or lack of them)
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| Not many wasps in our part of North Wiltshire this year. I think we have only seen about six all summer. Chris |
RE: wasps (or lack of them)
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| Waps nest at the bottom of my garden. All very busy to an froing from an upturned old packing case. Bit of a nuisance but I have left them be as I understand they will die off at first frost and not come back to the same nest. |
RE: wasps (or lack of them)
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No wasps here in Leeds West Yorks. We haven't had half as many bees either and only the white butterflies in the garden.
Alison |
RE: wasps (or lack of them)
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| I've had wasps in the garden and seen them elsewhere too, not in great numbers though. I remember there were more than usual the summer before, I think some of them were not killed off as the winter was mild here then. Last winter was a bit colder for at least some of the time. It's not been a great year for butterflies in my garden, I've seen the whites and the occasional small blue one (I'm not too hot on butterfly ID) but nothing else - I've done better other years. |
RE: wasps (or lack of them)
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| Actually, mild winters are very bad news for the species of wasps native to Britain. They need cold winters to keep them in hibernation. In mild winter weather, they are tempted out too early, and get hit by the next frost. The mild early winter followed by the cold March/April was a particularly bad combination this year, so yes, the numbers are low. Maybe eventually mild-winter tolerant Mediterranean wasp species might colonise Britain, but whether they will be able to cope with the cool spring weather here is another matter. Something that doesn't get its hibernation disturbed by a mild 15° day in January isn't going to come out of hibernation easily until July, and then what . . . Wasps are also not being helped at all by modern intensive agriculture - herbicides means no nectar for them to feed on, and insecticides means no insect food for them anywhere. Wasp numbers have been low every year for the last 20-30 years or more, compared with how common they used to be in the distant past. Same applies throughout to bees. Resin |
RE: wasps (or lack of them)
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| Glad to say very few wasps here in Belfast, after being absolutely tortured with them last year. So intrusive not like the busy bee at all. |
RE: wasps (or lack of them)
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| I work in a fruit and veg shop and normaly cherry season is a nightmare for us with wasps feeding on the cherries and customer complaints saying they can't pick out cherries to buy for fear of getting stung but this year we have only seen about 3 |
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