Buzz words

It is not unusual to hear older people complain about how little botany is taught in schools these days, a serious deficiency where young would-be gardeners are concerned. As serious, however, is the longstanding general ignorance of entomology, the study of insects. I count myself among the ignorami. From pretty well a standing start, I have spent my gardening life trying to discover more about this enormous, and hugely influential, phylum of the animal kingdom.

Only recently, for example, have I begun even vaguely to understand the biology of Vespidae or social wasps. This is shameful, I know, considering what an impact they have on the garden and those who work or relax in it. My interest was sharpened by an alarming incident of ‘swarming’ in August last year: despite my having hung a number of jam-pot traps, half filled with sugary liquid, in the branches, my greengage and plum trees were infested with noisy, aggressive wasps.