Wasps

[GRIZZLY]

Where have all the wasps disappeared to ?. Haven't seen a single one unlike last year when we were inundated with the blooming things.

[Apiarist]

Depends on where you are in the country I think. I have had the opposite experince, plenty of them all summer and some huge nests in local houses etc. Traditionally, cold winters are said to kill more overwintering queens leading to fewer colonies the following year but my observation is that it is much more complicated than that!

[GRIZZLY]

Sunny S.W Scotland - usually the top breeding area for wasps. Compared to last year, this years winter was quite mild so should have been a good survival year for queens. Mysterious. Nothing on my very ripe plums - these usually draw the wasps like magnets.

[busybeephilip]

In Comber, N.Ireland there is wasps but as mentioend not as bad as last year, saying that any week nucs or apideas were robbed out. I have traps out that are full of dead wasps and still attracting more. My extracted supers presently in the garage draw the wasps under the garadge door but I hang a blue light pest exterminator which seems to catch lots of them plus the odd nosey bee

[GRIZZLY]

Found my first wasps today-- the hard way-- I was making a bonfire to clear up some grass and other weeds when I discovered a wasp nest under the grass. The little blighters came out in force and I ended up being stung. So on with the bee suit and out with the blow lamp --- result a whole pile of dead wasps and nest. Still haven't seen any around the hives however.

[GRIZZLY]

Definate shortage of wasps this year . Still only found the one nest and the bees have been left entirely alone. We usually see lots of Q wasps looking for hibernation sites - but none so far. Mysterious !

[Castor]

Very very few wasps here (Gloucestershire) this year....

Odd. Beyond me.

[brecks]

Hardly any wasps here this year too.

[HJBee]

There were loads in Renfrewshire / Inverclyde, bit of a nuisance!

[Bridget]

We had a few early on trying to build nests inside the bee house, the cheek, they got knocked down pretty quick. Then recently I was offered some windfalls for my piggies and they brought with them a load of wasps one of which stung me while in the car.


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[Wmfd]

We had a lot here again, although it varies a lot by site.

Lost a weaker hive to them again this year despite narrowed entrances from very early on. It doesn't help that the hive involved was of a line that just keeps swarming, so never had lots of bees. Once the wasps get a weak one though they just keep on going and going.