When you are out and about on the trails just be aware if you are near any of the oak handrails that our local Wasps love chewing then into a pulp to take away to make high quality paper for their wonderfully intricate nests.

Get down close and watch them at eye level as they uses those powerful jaws to chew off tiny pieces that they then pass backwards and form into a sticky back to carry off back to the camp. Just try scratching the wood with a finger nail and see how much joy you have???

They best ways to identfy wasps is by their face pattern and the three common ones here are quite straightforward with Common Wasp having a black inverted T-bar in the yellow face, German having a triangle of black dots and Median just a single.

This one is Vespula germanica - the German Wasp and you can just make out the two tiny black dots under the black central one.

No need to be afraid... pay them the respect due and they will repay you with a great show in insect strength and intelligence

14-8-13