Stephen Howard wrote:

On Thu, 24 Apr 2003 08:31:13 +0100, "geoff"
wrote:

Urgers,

"One wasp" at this time of year is usually a queen out of hibernation
looking for somewhere to "set up shop". A very large one might be a hornet
which have a fearful reputation but are not so bad as wasps. Whichever you
see, please do not kill them for they are great scavengers even though they
annoy one at times.

A couple of year ago I was busily working away at my lathe when a
sharp pain shot through my back.
The shock it gave me caused me to jump - and with my hand on one of
the feed wheels I bumped the lathe tool into the piece I was working
on, shattering the work.

It was a bloody wasp, it had crawled down my neck and stung my back -
I just didn't hear or feel the thing coming.

I got stung two more times that day, both in the same fashion.

I'll leave wasps alone in their own environment - much in the same way
that whilst I'll squash slugs on my veggy patch and flower beds I
won't squash them elsewhere - in their place these creatures have a
right to exist and perform a useful function.

Hear him, hear him.
I've twice been stung by wasps while putting the laundry out. A friend
pointed out that each time the innocent wasp probably landed on my neck
with the best of intentions before my collar attacked it as I moved. I
don't care. My house and garden are *my* environment: any wasp looking
for a nest site is doomed if I spot it.[1]

Besides which I think I'm developing an allergy to the stings :-((



regards
sarah

[1] About six so far this year, but who's counting?


--
"Great is truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view,
is silence about truth." Aldous Huxley