19.08.03
The
latest buzz says wasps aren't so bad!
People
will need to think twice about telling wasps to buzz off if they
heed the reasons that 大象传媒 Wildlife Magazine specialist, Richard
Jones, gives for the insects invading late summer picnics.
For
in an article in the magazine聮s September issue (on sale from
today, price 拢2.90p), Jones explains that the wasps don聮t
want to sting - they are simply trying to stave off starvation.
And,
he adds, the reason they are hungry is that they聮ve spent a
busy season indirectly helping humans - by keeping down the flies,
aphids, and caterpillars which damage gardens and food crops.
According
to Jones, Britain聮s three most common varieties of wasp are
also the country聮s most important insect-controlling predators.
Throughout the breeding season, they kill enormous quantities of
insects to feed to the grubs in their nests while they, in turn,
take nourishment from a sugary liquid secreted by the larvae. But
by September, the grubs have matured and gone. 聯Jam sandwiches
fill the nutritional void.聰
Jones
says he once taught his five-year-old nephew to hold out a jammy
finger to study wasps in close-up - and earn admiring glances from
other picnickers. 聯Nearby diners were amazed by his courage,
but he knew the wasps were merely seeking an energy-filled food
and would only sting if flicked, flapped or otherwise irritated.聰
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