Wasps

serves you right for being an allergo-phobo-nancy boy, never wish away summer!

It is fairly obvious that if a wasp sting could do you serious harm, as in James' case, that you have a very good reason to be afraid of wasps (a 'rational fear' as he put it).

My point is simply that if you leave the odd wasp buzzing around your ice cream alone, they will be exceedingly unlikely to do you any harm (you obviously have to watch your interaction with your ice cream). They're not like humans; they don't make assumptions about the level of threat you might pose were you to threaten them, and they don't engage in pre-emptive strikes. However, they will react when you actually threaten them. If they sting in retaliation, it's you that's caused the problem in the first place. Simple.

As I've posted somewhere, nests are a completely different matter. Nests in human houses simply don't work. Get rid of any you find asap. Likewise for accidents in stumbling upon nests; bees and wasps will defend their hives and nests very strongly against perceived threats.

Try to overcome fears you may have and observe these beautiful insects. They are actually amazing creatures. I have to admit I hold less affection for solitary wasps.

Like OB, wasps are good for fuck all

Ribbush. From Wikipedia:

Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it, making wasps critically important in natural control of their numbers, or natural biocontrol. Parasitic wasps are increasingly used in agricultural pest control as they prey mostly on pest insects and have little impact on crops.

Lies lies!!

I have heaps of honeybees in my garden, they are so fucking placid and keep well away from humans.

Wasps however come straight over and try to land on my face, its almost like they know that you will flinch, giving them an excuse to sting you.

Wasps make people more afraid than honeybees (the sound of their buzz, the more alarming colours, the fact that they can sting and live, the way they fly, etc.), but again, wasps generally only sting when feeling threatened, and they are less aggressive than honeybees. If you can overcome your fear of them and replace it with fascination, you'll enjoy having them around, and you won't be stung.

Bees are mostly after the flowers and not after sugary concoctions that humans consume out in the open during summer, so they come into less conflict with us.

this is why. wasps seem to want to make you sting them.

That went right over my head.

Isn't it CO2 in nervous breath they home in on?

I have never been stung by a bee, wasp or hornet. Fucking terrified of it though, in case I am allergic or something.

mosquitoes go for co2

not sure re wasps

When my father was a kid, he was out doing a school cross country run or something similar when he tried to jump a barbed wire fence. He got over, but clipped the top wire with his foot, dislodging an entire hornets nest and sending it crashing to the ground.

Apparently the fuckers didn't stop chasing him for about 3 miles.

Ouch.

Wasps are brought to you by.

Wasps make people more afraid than honeybees (the sound of their buzz, the more alarming colours, the fact that they can sting and live, the way they fly, etc.), but again, wasps generally only sting when feeling threatened, and they are less aggressive than honeybees. If you can overcome your fear of them and replace it with fascination, you'll enjoy having them around, and you won't be stung.

Bees are mostly after the flowers and not after sugary concoctions that humans consume out in the open during summer, so they come into less conflict with us.

If you don't give a monkeys about a wasp and just get on with it, it doesn't attack you ... just ignore the fucker as you suggested works a treat.

Exactement. Glad you agree! It doesn't seem to be widely known.

Wasps make people more afraid than honeybees (the sound of their buzz, the more alarming colours, the fact that they can sting and live, the way they fly, etc.), but again, wasps generally only sting when feeling threatened, and they are less aggressive than honeybees. If you can overcome your fear of them and replace it with fascination, you'll enjoy having them around, and you won't be stung.

Bees are mostly after the flowers and not after sugary concoctions that humans consume out in the open during summer, so they come into less conflict with us.

This does not seem to be the case in the microcosm that is my back yard.

I have at least 3 species of honeybees and 3 of bumblebees too. They come out as soon as the frost is gone, while there is only one type of wasp which is around for a bit at the end of summer. Yet every instance of coming across a wasp has been a agressive one, or at least they seem to love flying into my face.

The bees however keep to themselves. I have to walk past two blossoming trees to get to my shed.They are loaded with hundreds of bees. I brush past them flickng the branches as I go. Yet not one even lands on me.

...Yet every instance of coming across a wasp has been a agressive one, or at least they seem to love flying into my face...

Wasps seem to react to human movement in an aggressive way that bees do not. Oliver's putting it out there about just loving them, which is very sensible and sound, but he didn't get stung on the forehead.

This does not seem to be the case in the microcosm that is my back yard.

I have at least 3 species of honeybees and 3 of bumblebees too. They come out as soon as the frost is gone, while there is only one type of wasp which is around for a bit at the end of summer. Yet every instance of coming across a wasp has been a agressive one, or at least they seem to love flying into my face.

The bees however keep to themselves. I have to walk past two blossoming trees to get to my shed.They are loaded with hundreds of bees. I brush past them flickng the branches as I go. Yet not one even lands on me.

Those bees are busy. If wasps were sitting on those branches, they wouldn't react much, either. As I said above, wasps seem more threatening to people for a number of reasons. Human becomes afraid and hits out or makes other aggressive movements. Wasp feels threatened. Wasp attempts to sting.

Wasps seem to react to human movement in an aggressive way that bees do not.

See feedback mechanism above.

Oliver's putting it out there about just loving them, which is very sensible and sound, but he didn't get stung on the forehead.

Yes, I've never been stung by a wasp. I've never had the misfortune of stepping on one or into a nest, and the rest of the time I've made sure I didn't threaten them. Simple. And I've spent a lot of time getting very close to wasps and having a close look at them, as I think they're beautiful things. It's perfectly safe to do that. I can only recommend that everyone do this sometime to overcome their fear of wasps. And by all means try just sitting still the next time you feel threatened. Put a beermat over your glass and just wait for the wasp to go away. It will lose interest soon and disappear.

Wasp molester...

I'm sorry Oliver, but you've totally derailed a thread that was supposed to be about animal cruelty with your rational and reasonable requests that we all embrace mother nature. No. We need to squash mother nature with

a deeply satisfying twang from the tension of the strings as you send the fucker hurtling across the room.

ocdc, you may have thought that that noise was your car's engine humming outside, but it's not. It is now coming inside, and it's not your car's engine. ;)

ocdc, you may have thought that that noise was your car's engine humming outside, but it's not. It is now coming inside, and it's not your car's engine. ;)

Petrol Head.

ocdc, you may have thought that that noise was your car's engine humming outside, but it's not. It is now coming inside, and it's not your car's engine. ;)

Nah, that would be telling. :)

Found a massive wolf spider as big as a large free range egg tonight. It was sat on the pavement underneath a streetlight. I stopped and looked closely at it. I don't know why, they're terrifying. It didn't move. I touched it very gently with the edge of my shoe. It didn't move. It arched its body a bit. It had fangs! I touched it again with my shoe and it jumped on top of my foot. I screamed and shook my leg and flicked it up in the air but didn't see where it went, and fearing it might land on my head I had to scuttle backwards still screaming whilst covering my head with my hands.

This one?