Ruud Kleinpaste: Small swarms of wasps

<p><span>Autumn – everybody is looking for a mate these days;</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>Ants often fly upwards on a nice autumn day to find a partner for a bit of R&amp;R.</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>Nuptial flights, we call that (in the Entomological Industry) and when you think about this concept carefully, you begin to wonder how and why this habit ever developed in evolution!</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>Can’t be an easy thing to do, especially when the wind is blowing quite a few Beauforts</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>Some termite species do exactly the same thing: the adults grow a few pairs of elegant wings with which they take to the skies. A mated female carefully lands again, sheds her wings and goes looking for a nice hole or cavity in which she can start a new colony.</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>The male simply dies… His job is done</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>The reason I am alerting you all about these reproductive techniques is because I have been getting a few phone calls on 0800 801080 with complaints of small swarms of paper wasps hanging out on fences, roof-lines, exposed branches in the garden… or on outdoor furniture, arm-rests etc in a nice sunny position. We’re not talking about high numbers (only a dozen of wasps or so) but still…: even half a dozen grumpy paper wasps are a threatening sight, because those critters are well-known for their lack of humour. The irony is that male Paper wasps do not sting!</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>The story is very much one of opportunistic display. It involves the concept of hanging out on a</span><span> '</span><span>lek site'.</span></p> <p><span>This is a place where males gather to attract females;</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>The guys often fly up in the sunshine and “fight” with each-other for the best position on the lek site; the place where they are quickly spotted by soliciting females.</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>males with the neatest, smallest yellow spots on their second abdomina