A Dying Breed

These german wasps used to be common in my garden, but this is the first one I have seen for months. The smaller common wasp has been around, but not in the usual numbers. This is great news. It means that the campaign to exterminate the Vespula wasps is working. I hope the lockdown doesn’t set the effort back.

The accidentally introduced Vespula wasps have no predators or competitors in New Zealand, meaning they have taken over the resources of the native birds and insects. They have silenced the birdsong in many forests, they have taken the honey and honeydew, they kill insects and even young birds. They ruin picnics by crawling on the food as it is being eaten, and they have a painful sting. Our forests and gardens were so much more pleasant before they arrived.

Lockdown Day 14:  My son went to a supermarket today. It was the first time he has been out for more than two weeks. We had run out of eggs. We are supposed to go to the nearest supermarket, and when you live in the country that can mean more than thirty kilometres away. It was a modest amount of groceries required and he managed to get most of them. It seemed really bizarre having to wash everything before taking it inside.