The invasion of the super-wasp is well under way in Oxfordshire, writes REG LITTLE. But the real sting in the tail is that the first reported swarm is in the garden of a Witney man who is allergic to wasps.
Brian Thorn, 58, spotted several giant wasps while he was out gardening. He immediately called his wife Carole after discovering a huge nest - the size of a large melon - in a bush at the side of their house in Vanner Road.
The European super-wasps are twice as big as British domestic wasps and have a more powerful sting. But despite reports of a series of frightening attacks on children earlier this month, Brian and Carole say they are content to leave the nest in place.
Carole, 59, who works at the Teddy Bear Shop in Witney, said: "My husband is actually allergic to wasp stings. If he is stung, his arms and legs really swell up. And that is just with normal-sized wasps." The nature-loving couple quickly discovered just what they had on their hands when they rushed indoors to find a reference book. It confirmed that they had a severe case of dolichovespula media - as the flying foreign invaders are more properly called.
Brian, who works in distribution at the Stanton Harcourt fashion firm Oasis, contacted Oxford University experts, the county council's natural science office and even the Natural History Museum in London. But the advice was to sit tight and leave the wasps to enjoy the August heatwave.
Carole, who has two grown-up daughters, said: "It seems that if you don't interfere with them you are all right. They are much larger than ordinary wasps and darker in colour.
"But they don't seem to be always flying around you like ordinary wasps when you're out sitting in the garden. "We had not read about any of the attacks in the papers. We only found out when I mentioned it to one of my daughters."
A girl of four required hospital treatment after being stung 70 times by a swarm while playing hide-and-seek at her family home in Weston-super-Mare. The girl's three-month-old puppy was also covered by the giant wasps. And seven children on a school nature ramble in Norfolk were taken to hospital in an earlier attack.
But Chris O'Toole, head of the Bee Unit at Oxford University's Natural History Museum, said there was no need for panic. He said: "These wasps are quite docile but the important thing is to leave them alone. I have come across a number of nests in the county and they have now spread right up to Scotland. They make their nests in trees and bushes and the real danger is when people bash nests with their heads while mowing the lawn. Then the wasps may attack."
John Campbell, curator of the county's natural science department, said the super-wasps were first spotted in Oxfordshire at Tubney Woods, near Oxford, back in 1992. Swarms have also been seen at Little Wittenham and near Henley.
"But for every recording we have, there are no doubt many more going unreported."
THE STINGING TRUTH
*The super-wasp first arrived in Britain eight years ago. It is believed an egg-laden queen crossed the Channel in a car or container *They make nests in exposed positions, such as suspended under branches or shrubs in gardens
*Unlike the common variety in the UK, the Euro-wasps will divebomb people if they feel threatened
*They are the largest species of wasp, second in size only to hornets
*Each nest can contain more than a 100 wasps
HOW TO HANDLE THEM
*Leave the nest alone unless it is in a position where anyone passing is stung. The nest will die off naturally at the start of winter. The wasps can even serve a useful purpose by eating bugs in the garden *Buy insecticidal dust, applying it generously around the entrance to the nest but taking care not to block the entrance itself. The dust will be picked up on the feet of returning workers and carried into the nest
*Never attempt to burn out a nest *Pest control treatment can be arranged with local councils, costing in the region of £20
FRIAR LUCK RUNS OUT
Three friars are counting their blessings after escaping a 'killer bee' attack in Port Meadow, writes CLARE STUART. The friars, from Blackfriars Dominican Priory in Oxford, were forced to sprint for cover after a swarm of bees began to divebomb
them.
Brother Simon Gaine, assistant Chaplain at Oxford Brookes University, was walking with Brother Tim Calvert and Father David Jones. As the bees attacked, the trio raced to the bottom of Southmoor Road. Br Gaine said: "It was an extremely frightening experience. I had no idea whether they were dangerous but they were so aggressive that I didn't want to stay to find out. They were massive and just flew at us." All three friars escaped without being stung.
Black European honey bees become aggressive in colder weather and when the pollen flow has been poor. Unlike other honey bees, the genetic make up of Black bees is such that they will readily attack when there is no obvious provocation from humans.
Though popularly termed 'killer bees', the black bee's sting, though extremely painful, is not fatal.
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