Where are all the wasps?

[38.7°C]

Waspie season is finally upon us but where are they all?  This time last year I was killing as many as 50 in one single day as you can see in the picture but this year ive not seen one single wasp, it all seems to be about the spider.

 

 

[simshady]

Looks like you got most of them.

[Nick L]

Much prefer spiders to wasps!

[Methuselah]

Wherever they are - they can stay there!

[Ravelin]

Definitely seems to have been a quiet year for wasps so far. I can only remember having one in the house all summer/autumn, a couple of weeks back. Not seen many more whilst out and about either.

[Liam J]

Not as many around this year but there has been a handful around coming into the house. Had two large spiders as well coming inside over the last week! I despise both of these creatures!! 

[Flash Elvis]

I've seen loads this year to the point where I got stung whilst drinking my Cider ...so I let the wasps get drunk on that whilst I moved onto my beer which they did not go near strangely enough!!

[AderynCoch]

Not seen many wasps but there's been tons of flies and craneflies.

 

Big house spiders are normal at this time of year.

[Flash Elvis]

All the false widows have eaten my large spiders and craneflies 

[Bristle Si]

Loads around down here in August but thankfully they seem to have gone now.

Was in The Algarve first 2 weeks of Sept and didnt see any - v unusual.

[mountain shadow]

Seen plenty over here. I don't mind them.

 

Could it be that you simply had a nest nearby last year?, this year you didn't.

[Jax]

Seen a few, by that about three or four a week, none in the home this year and only out and about where park picnic areas or bins have been close by, certainly feel they have been in reduced numbers that I have seen for two or three years running now.

[Andy Bown]

We were commenting daily through mid July to early September that there were many more wasps than the last few years (including in Cornwall and other places visited, not just at home)! Perhaps it is all regional variations depending on over wintering of wasps and varied summer conditions across the UK.

[lassie23]

Considering that it is wasp whacking season and I polished off my wasp whacking kit, the numbers have been disappointingly low. Only whacked 4. Didn't see many flying ants either this year. I think East Anglia has been a wasp hot spot, lucky no people live there.

[Yarmy]

Considering that it is wasp whacking season and I polished off my wasp whacking kit, the numbers have been disappointingly low. Only whacked 4. Didn't see many flying ants either this year. I think East Anglia has been a wasp hot spot, lucky no people live there.

 

 

[hillbilly]

The amount of bees I have seen on my lavender is but a tiny fraction to what there were last year,so it is not just wasps,and I don't recall seeing hardly any flies!

[Daniel*]

Waspie season is finally upon us but where are they all?  This time last year I was killing as many as 50 in one single day as you can see in the picture but this year ive not seen one single wasp, it all seems to be about the spider.

 

 

What's the purpose of killing them?

[lassie23]

 

What's the purpose of killing them?

Make the world a brighter place for our children and our children's children

[Northernlights]

Birds came to the feeder in the garden up to the end of July (normally mid May) when it finally warmed up enough for insects to survive and breed  and therefore provide them with an alternative feed source.Partridges, grouse and swallows also lost their first broods because of the lack of insects

 

In the last few days the birds are back at the feeder

 

Beekeepers in Scotland reckon they will only have about 30% of last years production because of the cold summer.

 

There are also grain splitting problems in malting barley because of the constant wetting and drying this summer.

 

Tomatoes in local greenhouses will just not ripen because of the lack of sunshine and also crops in Aberdeenshire are the same

 

 This is a summer to remember for all the wrong reasons

[4wd]

Here the Brambles (Blackberries) only have the first one or two ripening, the majority are never going to make it - just been too cold and not enough growing days.
By tradition after 31st September they are not worth picking "because the devils spits on them" - but it's not a bad guideline as the sugars drop away later on and they are nothing like as nice.
The last few swallows have gone today or yesterday.

[Bobafet]

Had loads on the Isle of Wight this year, they seemed to have disappeared now though, thankfully!!

If you are a keen gardener or allotmenteer then wasp are most welcome as they kill all the pests that can invade your crops!!

[Mountain Snow]

I've been stung twice this month so plenty around here!

[Methuselah]

What's the purpose of killing them?

It makes them easier to count, of course...Doh!

[Boro Snow]

The last few weeks we have had quite a lot except this week I have not seen one, you seem to be proud of that picture I catch them when in the house and let them go do not see the point in killing them

[cheese]

Not many here either. Saw my first of the year about 3 weeks ago - not much since.

However, there is a wasps nest inside a tree at the White Rose centre in Leeds

. I kept my distance.