Mary Fisher wrote:
wrote in message
ups.com...

Over the last couple of weeks my 20 month old (inquisitive) little
boy has been stung twice; he has a nasty habit of finding the most
rotten looking fallen apple hiding in the long grass and then
picking it up and running around with it. I'm not certain he's put
two and two together that the wasp / bee sting is related to the
manky apple in his hand.

It won't be a bee sting. Bees wouldn't need to go to ripe apples,
they have tongues which can access nectar, which is sweeter than any
fruit. Wasps have hardly any tongues. It's a long and beautiful story
but it's only at this time of year, as a rule, that wasps seek sugar
and since very few flowers can satisfy their needs they exploit
anything else they can find - fruit, sweet and alcoholic drinks, jam
and, worst of all when they do it en masse, bees' nests.

The wasp on the apple will only sting if it's touched, that's a
threat to its integrity and it's defending itself - as any of us
would if we were threatened and had a weapon. I remember one autumn
when our children were eating tea on the front doorstep and wasps
were walking round their mouths eating the jam. No-one was stung.

Wasps really are fascinating creatures, I know they're vilified but
they play an important part in the ecology of our gardens.

Of course, we do our best to make sure all rotten fruit is moved away
to prevent just this problem, but he always finds one. Mind you,
although it is uncomfortable for a couple of minutes, there are many
things worse than being stung, so maybe he'll grow up toughened as a
result! He's already been stung more times in his 20 months than I
have in my 35 years!

Being stung as a child isn't nice but they get over it. Your last
sentence is telling :-) but you're absolutely right in that there are
many worse things than being stung - you have a sensible attitude :-)

Not if you swell up like a ruddy balloon if even one of the little beggars
jab its sting into you!

That what happens to me and I suffer for days - I kill the beggars as soon
as they get near me.


Brian G