UK wasp numbers soar after unusually warm and dry spring | Insects
If the dodge of the Goélands who tries to steal your fries was not already enough, you could spend your bank holidays trying to keep the wasps away from your ice.
Great Britain is in the middle of a guy boom. Not only did they arrive earlier than expected, but there are more than in recent summers. Experts say that 2025 is a great year for them.
The populations have climbed through the United Kingdom thanks to an unusually hot and dry source. The United Kingdom had its warmest spring for an average temperature recorded, according to the Met Office.
Fresh and wet springs help maintain regulated wasp figures destroying young workers’ colonies before they can settle. But not this year. With ideal conditions, more queens have survived to establish nests, leading to the early appearance of significantly larger colonies.
“The hot and dry conditions have created the ideal environment for the wasps to thrive,” said Professor Seirian Sumner, a behavioral ecologist at the University College London and author of Endless Forms: Why Dev on Dove wasps. “It means more colonies, more wasps and a longer season.”
Wasps generally do not cause picnic chaos before the end of August, when they start to want sugar, said Sumner, but the hot time is already there.
At the start of the season, wasps are looking for proteins to bring their nests back, generally other insects such as flies and caterpillars. It is not ideal if you nibble on a tape egg, but it is ideal for the environment, she said. Wasps are controllers of natural pests and play a key role in the regulation of insect populations.
Over the summer, their preferences change. Once the larvae are nourished and the colonies ripens, the adult wasps are rather starting to hunt sugar. Their narrow sizes make them less capable of digesting solid foods, so that they gravitate towards practical liquids, that is to say when sugary drinks and ice become privileged targets.
Alcohol, in particular, seems to be a magnet. “The volatile compounds published by drinks such as cider, beer and wine are very attractive for wasps,” said Dr. Tilly Collins, member of the Royal Entomological Society and researcher at the Imperial College in London.
Despite their poor reputation, the wasps are crucial for our ecosystem. In addition to their role in the antiparasitic struggle, they are vital pollinators. After decades of drop in insect numbers, their return this year is a promising sign that experts welcome.
So what should you do when you go around your sandwich?
Andrew Whitehouse of the charitable organization of the Buglife charity, which is devoted to the conservation of invertebrates, said: “Do not panic, and do not panic. Stay calm and move your arms in a slow and controlled way. They should receive the message.”
Sumner, who performs ham or jam? investigation This follows the behavior of the wasp suggests a sacrificial piece: “Place a small part of the short distance wasp. Wasps are opportunists and generally happy to accept a better offer. ”
