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noticed they were paying particular attention to a couple of victims of the 12-year-old's sleep-over party at the weekend. Two dead slugs, seemingly crushed under the tent were being carefully examined by at least four wasps when I cleared up on Sunday

the small golfball-sized embryo nest with its 15-20 cells in a single paper comb. After she has laid her first 15-20 eggs in these, she must forage for caterpillars, flies, aphids and other insects to feed to the grubs that hatch.This is a vulnerable time

Wasps love feeding on soft, juicy fruit. They can break through the skins of grapes, peaches and plums, and quickly nibble out sizeable cavities, but fruit with tougher skins such as apples and pears must first be broken open by pecking birds before

Over the next few weeks, you may find a large wasp on the plot, which will turn out to be a queen. Having overwintered, queen wasps look for a place to start a brood, and may well decide that your shed (or in my case, compost heap), would make a

2007 will be remembered as a very good year for wasps. But before people start complaining about their vicious stings and bad tempers, I must point out that wasps are actually our friends. After birds and spiders, they are the most important insect

then succumb to the dreaded brown rot. (The signs of brown rot are raised beige spots, usually in neat concentric rings and a speedy, brown rotting of the flesh.)This year the birds and the wasps have eaten everything in sight. The peaches ('Avalon') cropped

Pears ripening on the tree are damaged by wasps excavating holes into the soft, juicy flesh. The holes are initially created by hungry birds, then wasps are attracted by the juice and move in.Pears that are still on the tree display hollowed out

.I was also surprised to see that the wasp nest, two plots down, was still abuzz. At the end of the season, wasp colonies normally rather fizzle out. There is usually a little bit of activity from the last remaining workers as the new queens and males

An insect of the order Hymenoptera. They're considered a pest in the summer when they feed on ripe fruit.

by the snow.I regularly find queen wasps curled up, with their wings folded and tucked down underneath their bodies. With metabolism turned down to barely tick-over, they are immobile and can be closely examined (but not picked up) without risk of startling