This is the reason for the number of annoying wasps this year

Many people are bothered by wasps in the summer. Whether you’re relaxing on the balcony or having a barbecue in the garden: the yellow and black animals keep popping up.

In 2022, insects are particularly noticeable. In Germany there was talk of a “year of the hornet”. In Switzerland, harmless animals are more aggressive than before.

But this year the situation is a little different. Compared to last year, the wasps appear to be less numerous and aggressive.

Hannes Bohr, an entomologist at the Natural History Museum in Bern, confirms this impression to Nau.ch: “I can only say that there weren’t many wasps outside and this year around the same. Last year it was an average year, this year It was below average.”

However, this cannot be proven with numbers. Because detailed data on wasp activity is not collected.

Sarah Hoyler, deputy media officer for Pro Natura, says the same. She also notes that the wasps look “very different locally”.

However, it is not unusual for summer-to-summer variations. “Annual fluctuations are normal and have different causes,” says Hoyler.

According to Hoyler, one of them is the weather: “If the spring is very wet, for example, that can have negative consequences for wasps and hornets.”

Bohr of the Natural History Museum sees it similarly. It is not clear what the reasons are. However, he also mentioned external conditions: “There can be several factors at play, such as the weather at critical times in population development.”

And by the way, it’s not the same with mosquitoes, as Howler explains: “Mosquitoes benefit, for example, when it rains frequently and a well of water forms where they can lay their eggs. Therefore, there are more mosquitoes in wet weather than in dry weather.”