Go to: Guardian Unlimited homeUK newsWorld newsComment is free blogSport blogArts & entertainment blogPodcastsIn picturesVideo----------------------Archive searchArts and entertainmentBooksBusinessEducationGuardian.co.ukEnvironmentFilmFootballJobsKatine appealLife and styleMediaGuardian.co.ukMoneyMusicThe ObserverPoliticsScienceShoppingSocietyGuardian.co.ukSportTalkTechnologyTravelBeen there----------------------AudioEmail servicesSpecial reportsThe GuardianThe northernerThe wrap----------------------Advertising guideCompare finance productsCrosswordFeedbackGarden centreGNM press officeGraduateGuardian BookshopGuardianEcostoreGuardianFilmsHeadline serviceHelp / contactsInformationLiving our valuesNewsroomNotes & QueriesReader OffersSoulmates datingStyle guideSyndication servicesTravel offersTV listingsWeatherWeb guidesWorking for us----------------------Guardian AbroadGuardian WeeklyMoney ObserverPublicLearnGuardian back issuesObserver back issuesGuardian Professional
News
Sport
Comment
Culture
Business
Money
Life & style
Travel
Environment
TV
Video
Data
Mobile
Offers
Jobs
News
Guardian
Home
Recent queries
Send a query
Crossword
Lucky dip
Any answers?
About Notes and Queries
Sudoku
Categories
Nooks and crannies
Yesteryear
Semantic enigmas
The body beautiful
Red tape, white lies
Speculative science
This sceptred isle
Root of all evil
Ethical conundrums
This sporting life
Stage and screen
Birds and the bees
BIRDS AND THE BEESWhy do Wasps only become active in the UK in August when most the warm growing season has already gone ?
Peter, Kings Langley, England
Wasps are active from spring, when the hibernating queens wake up and make a small nest and lay eggs to create the first few workers (unlike bees, where the whole colony more or less hibernates). Also unlike bees, wasps are carniverous, so they tend not to bother us for most of the summer. They do however get addicted to a sweet secretion that is exuded by the growing grubs. In late summer, when all the grubs have grown up, the wasps no longer get their hit from this source. It is then that they turn their attention to the sweet things on our table. This is when we start to find them a nuisance.
David Roberts, Crewe, UK
During the earlier part of the year they feed on aphids and similar pests. When the aphids die out in the summer and early autumn the wasps then start looking for food (people's picnics being a favoured source) and thus become more noticeable.
