Large, conspicuous buzzing insects with
yellow and black striped, wasp-waisted bodies,
10-15mm long. They have a sweet tooth at
one end and a painful sting at the other.
The queen wasp is larger (20mm) and she
hibernates over winter, making a nest in
the spring in which to lay her eggs. She
feeds the grubs on insects until they develop
into worker wasps, three to four weeks later.
Workers, all sterile females, forage for
over a mile in search of food. One nest
may produce 30,000 wasps in a year. At their
peak in August and September with the youngsters
reared, the workers turn to the sweet food
they prefer and become a nuisance wherever
this is available. If annoyed or threatened,
wasps will sting and the best remedy - after
removing the sting with a clean finger nail
- is to apply an anti-histamine. Some people
react violently to being stung with several
dying each year.
