Been having a bit of a problem here for the past couple of days with
very large wasps. I've had to deal with several in the house. We don't
usually get very many wasps here and certainly not this early in the
year. These ones are rather slower-moving than the bog-standard British
wasps and they appear to be at least 50% larger.

I've noticed a couple of people on Twitter commenting on them in other
parts of the country. Perhaps they are 'immigrants' as a result of
climate change.

--
Norman Lynagh
Tideswell, Derbyshire
303m a.s.l.
https://peakdistrictweather.org
twitter: @TideswellWeathr

These are queen wasps out of hibernation and looking for a site for
a new nest (byke).

Phil.

"Norman Lynagh" wrote in message
...
Been having a bit of a problem here for the past couple of days with
very large wasps. I've had to deal with several in the house. We don't
usually get very many wasps here and certainly not this early in the
year. These ones are rather slower-moving than the bog-standard British
wasps and they appear to be at least 50% larger.

I've noticed a couple of people on Twitter commenting on them in other
parts of the country. Perhaps they are 'immigrants' as a result of
climate change.

--
Norman Lynagh
Tideswell, Derbyshire
303m a.s.l.
https://peakdistrictweather.org
twitter: @TideswellWeathr

---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
https://www.avg.com

On 21/04/2019 00:36, philgurr wrote:
These are queen wasps out of hibernation and looking for a site for
a new nest (byke).

Phil.

"Norman Lynagh" wrote in message
...
Been having a bit of a problem here for the past couple of days with
very large wasps. I've had to deal with several in the house. We don't
usually get very many wasps here and certainly not this early in the
year. These ones are rather slower-moving than the bog-standard British
wasps and they appear to be at least 50% larger.

I've noticed a couple of people on Twitter commenting on them in other
parts of the country. Perhaps they are 'immigrants' as a result of
climate change.


I'd also go along with the idea that they are queen wasps. April seems
to be the usual time to see them. Someone in my old home town (Rushden,
Northants) reported a lot of wasps around their house a few days ago, so
many that they thought there must be a nest.


--
Graham P Davis, Bracknell, Berks. Web-site: http://www.scarlet-jade.com/
With great power comes great electricity bill.
OS: Linux [openSUSE Tumbleweed]

Graham P Davis wrote:

On 21/04/2019 00:36, philgurr wrote:
These are queen wasps out of hibernation and looking for a site for
a new nest (byke).

Phil.

"Norman Lynagh" wrote in message
...
Been having a bit of a problem here for the past couple of days
with very large wasps. I've had to deal with several in the
house. We don't usually get very many wasps here and certainly
not this early in the year. These ones are rather slower-moving
than the bog-standard British wasps and they appear to be at
least 50% larger.

I've noticed a couple of people on Twitter commenting on them in
other parts of the country. Perhaps they are 'immigrants' as a
result of climate change.


I'd also go along with the idea that they are queen wasps. April
seems to be the usual time to see them. Someone in my old home town
(Rushden, Northants) reported a lot of wasps around their house a few
days ago, so many that they thought there must be a nest.

Thanks, both. I've never noticed them before. Perhaps there are more
than usual this year.

--
Norman Lynagh
Tideswell, Derbyshire
303m a.s.l.
https://peakdistrictweather.org
twitter: @TideswellWeathr

On Saturday, April 20, 2019 at 11:15:25 PM UTC+1, Norman Lynagh wrote:
Been having a bit of a problem here for the past couple of days with
very large wasps. I've had to deal with several in the house. We don't
usually get very many wasps here and certainly not this early in the
year. These ones are rather slower-moving than the bog-standard British
wasps and they appear to be at least 50% larger.

I've noticed a couple of people on Twitter commenting on them in other
parts of the country. Perhaps they are 'immigrants' as a result of
climate change.

--
Norman Lynagh
Tideswell, Derbyshire
303m a.s.l.
https://peakdistrictweather.org
twitter: @TideswellWeathr

There seems more this year here too. As many as usually in August. Must be the early warm spell.
They are flying all round my garden looking at places to start a nest.
Seem to fancy an air brick in my house wall.
I've told them they can't nest there and blocked it with a piece of wood.

Len
Wembury, SW Devon

In message , Graham P Davis
writes
I'd also go along with the idea that they are queen wasps. April seems
to be the usual time to see them. Someone in my old home town (Rushden,
Northants) reported a lot of wasps around their house a few days ago,
so many that they thought there must be a nest.

I saw some several weeks ago - I think possibly in the warm spell at the
end of February - but haven't seen any recently. Presumably by now they
have all found suitable spots for their nests. Not a surprise that here
in Surrey we are some weeks ahead of the Peak District.
--
John Hall
"Hegel was right when he said that we learn from history
that man can never learn anything from history."
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

On Sun, 21 Apr 2019 06:22:14 +0100, Graham P Davis
wrote:

I'd also go along with the idea that they are queen wasps. April seems
to be the usual time to see them. Someone in my old home town (Rushden,
Northants) reported a lot of wasps around their house a few days ago, so
many that they thought there must be a nest.

I had two wasp nests in my loft a few years ago. I called the free
pest service in the nearest town (Stockport). A man came and put a
pile of some white powder in my loft. He did not remove the nests. He
said the wasps will die and he was right. Every time I opened the loft
door lots of dead wasps fell out.

The good news is that the wasps control many other annoying little
bugs around the garden. In my 70 years I have found the wasps stings I
have had are not has painful as the bee stings I have had.

Steve

--
http://www.npsnn.com

On Sun, 21 Apr 2019 02:19:19 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Saturday, April 20, 2019 at 11:15:25 PM UTC+1, Norman Lynagh wrote:
Been having a bit of a problem here for the past couple of days with
very large wasps. I've had to deal with several in the house. We
don't
usually get very many wasps here and certainly not this early in the
year. These ones are rather slower-moving than the bog-standard
British
wasps and they appear to be at least 50% larger.

I've noticed a couple of people on Twitter commenting on them in
other
parts of the country. Perhaps they are 'immigrants' as a result of
climate change.

--
Norman Lynagh
Tideswell, Derbyshire
303m a.s.l.
https://peakdistrictweather.org
twitter: @TideswellWeathr

There seems more this year here too. As many as usually in August.
Must be the early warm spell.
They are flying all round my garden looking at places to start a nest.
Seem to fancy an air brick in my house wall.
I've told them they can't nest there and blocked it with a piece of
wood.

Len
Wembury, SW Devon

---
The Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) is a species of hornet which is not
native to the UK. It is smaller than our native hornet and poses no
greater risk to human health than other hornets or bees.

However, they do pose a risk to honey bees and pollinating insects.
This is why we are keen to stop this insect establishing in the UK,
and why you should report suspected sightings.

When a sighting is confirmed, experts from the National Bee Unit (NBU)
and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) will work quickly to
find and destroy any active nests in the area.

Current situation

No Asian hornets have been seen in the UK since 14 October 2018.

The risk of an active Asian hornet nest being found in the UK is
negligible during the colder winter months. A risk remains of
accidentally transporting an Asian hornet when returning to the UK
from abroad.

To date, there have been 13 confirmed sightings of the Asian hornet in
England and six nests have been destroyed.

Nine of these sightings occurred in 2018; an individual hornet in
Lancashire (April) and Hull, three in Cornwall, two in Hampshire, one
in Surrey (all September) and the latest in Kent (October).

It is crucial you report any possible sightings so our experts can
take quick and effective action to eradicate Asian hornets.

Nicola Spence, Chief Plant Health Officer, said:


“By ensuring we are alerted to possible sightings as early as
possible, we can take swift and effective action to stamp out the
threat posed by Asian hornets.

“While the Asian hornet poses no greater risk to human health than a
bee, we recognise the damage they can cause to honey bee colonies and
other beneficial insects.

“Please continue to look out for any Asian hornets and if you think
you’ve spotted one, report your sighting through the Asian hornet app
or online.”

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/a...htings-in-2018