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 BBC Wildlife Magazine specialist, Richard
Jones, gives for the insects invading late summer picnics.
For
in an article in the magazines September issue (on sale from
today, price £2.90p), Jones explains that the wasps dont
want to sting - they are simply trying to stave off starvation.
And,
he adds, the reason they are hungry is that theyve spent a
busy season indirectly helping humans - by keeping down the flies,
aphids, and caterpillars which damage gardens and food crops.
According
to Jones, Britains three most common varieties of wasp are
also the countrys 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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