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December 2022 December 2022
Worldwide they are some 150,000 known species compared to just 22,000 bees his teens he spent the summers lifeguarding at
and 13,000 ants. The black and yellow striped wasp, with its characteristic Hinksey Pool in Oxford. He became an
extremely thin wasp waist, is the yellowjacket or vespine wasp. Although many international canoeist both at marathon and
wasps lead a solitary existence the vespine wasp live a social live in large sprint distances and was the GB surf life saving
colonies. The queen wasp establishes the nest and lays all the eggs. The ‘worker’ champion for a couple of years. Then he
wasps hunt for caterpillars, aphids etc to feed the young larva, although the adult competed at triathlon for ten years as well as
wasps are strictly vegetarian and feed on nectar from flowers; hence, the dual becoming an ASA swimming teacher. In 1975 he
role of predating pests and pollinating plants. received a Royal Humane Society award for
Wasp nests are amazing works of architecture. The nest is made from wood bravery for rescuing someone who was trying to
gathered by the ‘worker’ wasps from trees or maybe from the surface of your commit suicide off Folly Bridge, Oxford in the
garden fence or bench and combined with saliva is made into a workable pulp. middle of winter.
Nest can be as large as a football or even bigger. The queen lays her eggs into We were soon joined by Richard. He had learnt to
the cavities created between the incredibly thin and delicate layers of the wood swim at a young age and he remembers with
pulp. The photo shows a small wasp nest found in hay store in the village. affection his Sunday evening trips with his dad to
So, if wasps have been Temple Cowley Swimming Pool. As a child, he
carrying out their business made frequent summer visits to Hinksey Lido and
occasionally swam in the river. He
during the spring and early
summer why do they start to moved to Swanage in 1991 and took
annoy us at the end of the up triathlon which is where he met up
summer. When the colony is with Dave. Now both are dedicated
young the larva secrete a sea swimmers, enjoying it for fun and
sugary solution which the adult fitness.
wasps can feed on. At the end Sarah Spurling a former competitive
of the summer there are fewer pool swimmer and Les Jessop my old
larva and thus less sugar water polo buddy, soon joined us so
secretions for the adults to we were just five on the day. We often
feed on. But, the adult wasps get up to a dozen swimmers. “Open
still need to feed. Your jam water swimming was an amazing
scone or beer is just the sugar discovery for me” Sarah said “it gives
fix they need! me such a sense of freedom and
achievement. I feel so privileged!”.

The camaraderie, the friendships can
Bere Stream be life changing.
After all the dry weather of We were now ready and Dave
summer, late autumn has decided that for a change we would
brought plenty of rain and the swim down to Sheps Hollow. We
water level in the stream has always swim just 30/40 metres from the
risen again. You will have shoreline and parallel to the beach
noticed the extensive growth of well within the 5 knot buoys further out
water plants which in some to sea. Although all of us are
areas have spread right across experienced sea swimmers, safety is a
the stream. The dominant major consideration and no one wants
species are Water Crowfoot with to be mowed down by a jet ski.
its attractive white flowers in the

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