German wasps have nothing better to do than invade UK and string Brits after a trip to the wasp equivalent of a pub – fermenting fruit – prompting pest control chiefs to issue a warning.
Brits have this week been warned to stay clear of swarms of jobless German WASPS – which have nothing better to do all day than get drunk on fermenting fruit and sting people.
Pest control chiefs say the wasps – called yellowjackets and whose Latin name is Vespula germanica – give a much nastier sting than the common wasp.
The worker wasps, which are bigger than normal wasps but smaller than hornets, are in the process of ‘finishing their work’ supplying queen wasps with nectar, meaning they have ‘nothing to do’.
Many queens have finished laying their eggs and are in the process of leaving the nest, meaning the worker wasps are no longer tending to the queen and her larvae.
Workers are used to getting a ‘sweet treat’ from larvae, which give them a ‘sugary liquid’ called chitin – made from glucose – in return for bringing them ‘food’, like insects and nectar.
But with the queens gone – either dead, or off to hibernate until next spring – and no larvae to feed, the workers are desperate for a ‘fix’ of something sweet.
The driest year for decades in some areas of the country means windfall fruits – like blackberries and plums – are already fermenting on the ground, giving the wasps a boozy treat.
That makes the worker wasps ‘tipsy’ and ‘extra bold’ – meaning they are more likely to sting for no reason. Chris Davies, the service and technical manager for Cleankill Pest Control, said the wasps go ‘a bit nuts’ this time of year trying to satisfy their cravings for sweet things.
He said: “The workers have to bring food back to the larvae and each time they bring food back – such as an insect – they get a sweet reward from the larvae.
“It’s when the larvae develop and stop needing them that they go a bit nuts trying to find sweet things to satisfy their cravings.”
He said that along with windfall fruits, wasps were also more likely to look for ‘anything sugary’ – like an open can of fizzy pop, jam sandwich or doughnut – key elements of picnics.
The average wasp nest contains 10,000 wasps, although some can house up to 500,000 of the flying critters.
The are hundreds of millions of the German wasps in the UK, compared to around 240bn common wasps.
Paul Bates, of Cleankill, said German wasps – which can be distinguished from normal wasps because of the three black spots on their face – had a ‘particularly painful sting’.
He said: “Up until the start of August, workers provide food for the larvae in the nest, but once the queen stops laying eggs there is no longer any need for food in the nest so the workers go out to have a good time.
“When worker wasps have finished their life’s work – when the queen wasps have stopped laying and don’t need food brought to them – the workers are free to go out and enjoy themselves.
“There will be drunk wasps around who have been feasting on fermented fruit and will be extra bold.
“All this means that the wasps are likely to sting for no reason and they are now at their most dangerous.”
Colin Brooksbank, 34, of Bournemouth, said he was stung four times by wasps after going blackberry picking at the weekend.
He said: “I’d gone to my local park to pick blackberries – they are huge and really sweet at the moment.
“I noticed quite a lot of them on the ground and saw a few wasps buzzing about, but didn’t think much of it.”
He added: “I’d only filled half a punnet of blackberries when the wasps started coming at me, I got stung on my hand, then my arm, then my leg twice.
“I ran home to my wife, who put a cold flannel on the stings and washed them – I’ll be going to Tesco to get blackberries from now on.”
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.
#Drunk #angry #jobless #German #wasps #invade #attack #Brits
