SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

Anyone noticed a the presence of large wasps this last week or so?They are looking for somewhere to start building their nests.I've seen lots more than previous years and put it down to a mild winter, more have survived than would normally do.I think I can safely predict we'll be inundated with the little devils in August and September this year! So load up with fly and wasp spray before it all sells out!

I hope they are not hornets as they are nasty things. I think there was a problem last year with hornets attacking runners during a charity race near Spofforth.

stutterdog wrote: Anyone noticed a the presence of large wasps this last week or so?They are looking for somewhere to start building their nests.I've seen lots more than previous years and put it down to a mild winter, more have survived than would normally do.I think I can safely predict we'll be inundated with the little devils in August and September this year! So load up with fly and wasp spray before it all sells out! Yes,stutterdog....we have noticed quite a number of the beggars lately round again us.Quite large in size,apparently hunting for a good nesting site.We've loads of ivy all up the back of the house and they seem to go mad for it for some reason.Hopefully,some SL poster on here may shed some light on that particular idiosyncrasy of these fearsome creatures !

All is not lost. Wasps are great predators of flies, etc., so they're actually quite useful. It's not until late summer when they go after the soft fruit that they become a bit of a nuisance. Best thing to do is ignore them - the worst thing that folk do is start waving their arms around, which threatens the insect and make it much more likely to attack.Funnily enough, hornets are far less aggressive than wasps, despite being bigger.

stutterdog wrote: Anyone noticed a the presence of large wasps this last week or so?They are looking for somewhere to start building their nests. I noticed this on Monday, It was particularly bad that day. I had several of them flying outside the bed room window in a concerted effort to find a hole in the brick mortar. They wanted to get in the cavity and build a nest. One was there around 4 hours. I'm glad they cleared off because the pest treatment man would have had a job on fumigating the nest out of a window 100' high up.

Funnily enough, hornets are far less aggressive than wasps, despite being bigger. Sorry can't agree with your comment on Hornets not being aggressive...... In the early sixties i came out of the Junction Pub on Dewsbury Rd. having had about 8 pints of Tetleys bitter and crossing the road i was attacked by a Wolsey Hornet carwhich struck me a glancing blow and i cart wheeled for a while and after landing found my Italian 4 button suit and my winklepicker shoes were ruined.                                     So there.

*** D's R. B's D's R.     R.D.L.     O.L.I.D.R.Sorry, only a joke!

Was going to chip that not seen any wasps thus far 2014 but then frightened by a whopper in the house. Also lots of masonry bees getting into the brickwork.Mustn't grumble

I had an irritated wasp on a bus I used today. They can never find the way out through open windows (I think windows should be better designed to guide wasps out!). I don't like it when a wasp (even worse if wasps) is buzzing around me on a bus but I feel bad for those people that become terrified of such as wasps flying around in the enclosed space of a bus.The instinct of many is to try to kill them by swatting, which is not easy and makes the wasp more irritated. Some people will though kill anything. A few years back on a bus there was a lovely colourful large moth (? a Deaths Head moth as it had a lot of pink) which some tough looking but clearly scared lads were going to kill, but I saved the moth and holding it tenderly between my hands I let it go when I got off the bus. Not too unlike an incident in the Argos that was on Albion Street. Two lads on the staff had brought in a shipment and were moving it when a large harvest man appeared. They do look like long-legged spiders and I would not have done so myself if I had not known it was an harvest man, as I carefully took it outside (where it struck me later it would likely have quickly been walked on by passers by). The lads though were absolutely terrified of the 'spider' and wanted to kill it there and then.

I think some of the Bumble Bees I've seen this year were built by Boeing - absolutely massive.