Audric Moses has seen a few late-summer wasp outbreaks around his Edmonton home over the past seven years, but nothing like what he saw last week.
含羞草研究社淢y wife said, 含羞草研究社楬ey, come on out here. You need to see this,含羞草研究社櫤卟菅芯可鐫 he said.
含羞草研究社淭here were apples in the tree that were completely covered in wasps, inside and outside of the apples. They were just eating their way into the centre, leaving a hollow skin of an apple behind.
含羞草研究社淭he population of wasps just seems to have exploded in the last week.含羞草研究社�
Late summer is often wasp time on the Prairies, as the little stingers go through their natural cycle. But this season seems a bit more yellow-and-black than normal.
含羞草研究社淚含羞草研究社檝e been hearing a lot from southern and central Alberta that it seems like it含羞草研究社檚 big wasp season,含羞草研究社� said University of Alberta entomologist Maya Evenden.
It含羞草研究社檚 the same to the east, said her colleague Sarah Wood at the University of Saskatchewan.
含羞草研究社淚 do hear from people who are getting stung in their backyards,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淧opulations may be higher this year than average.含羞草研究社�
Many would agree.
On Friday, kindergarten to Grade 9 students at Edmonton含羞草研究社檚 Shauna May Seneca School were kept indoors for recess because there were too many wasps in the schoolyard. Restaurant servers in the city have also been warning prospective patio-sitters that they may have fellow diners in yellow jackets.
The City of Edmonton says its pest management team has removed 374 wasp nests so far this year and is in the process of removing more. Last year, it got rid of 121.
While there may be a bit more buzz to this summer含羞草研究社檚 wasp season, there含羞草研究社檚 nothing new about the reasons for it. Wasp demographics and food supplies create the same effect every year.
Firstly, said Evenden, wasp colonies have had all summer to nurture their eggs and bring larvae to adulthood. By now, there含羞草研究社檚 a whole new generation of grown-up wasps thirsty for a sip of the wine in your glass.
含羞草研究社淭hey含羞草研究社檝e had that season to build up their colony size,含羞草研究社� Evenden said. 含羞草研究社淭here含羞草研究社檚 more of them from each colony.含羞草研究社�
Evenden added that unusually hot weather across the Prairies in July may have quickened the growth of the larvae and helped more of them survive.
As well, late summer is when wasp diets shift. Earlier in the summer, wasps are able to feed their young without too much trouble 含羞草研究社� a balanced diet of flower pollen and the larvae and young of other insects.
But by this point in the season, those prey insects have all grown up and flowers aren含羞草研究社檛 quite as abundant.
含羞草研究社淭here含羞草研究社檚 less nectar available in the environment,含羞草研究社� said Wood.
含羞草研究社淭hey need to look for other resources. That含羞草研究社檚 why they含羞草研究社檙e after human food as well as honeybees含羞草研究社� food. There含羞草研究社檚 just less to go around.含羞草研究社�
That relative scarcity has another effect that does not go unnoticed.
含羞草研究社淭hey seem a little bit more aggressive,含羞草研究社� said Evenden.
Evenden said people should look more kindly on wasps. They含羞草研究社檙e important plant pollinators and play significant ecosystem roles, even in suburban backyards.
含羞草研究社淧eople give them a bad rap,含羞草研究社� she said.
But Moses wishes they含羞草研究社檇 play that role somewhere else. A wasp trap he set out in his backyard was full of dead bugs in a day.
含羞草研究社淎ll of the liquid bait was gone,含羞草研究社� he said. 含羞草研究社淚t was just wasp bodies.
含羞草研究社淚t was dangerous. We couldn含羞草研究社檛 go into some parts of our yard.含羞草研究社�
The outbreak in his yard may be abating, a little. The next wasp trap took two days to fill.
As the fall weather cools, wasps stop laying eggs and slow down. Eventually, all the wasps in the colony die, except for a few fertilized females that hunker down for the winter to wait for spring.
Then they can begin rebuilding the colony and start the whole cycle over again.
