Annual Records by Month
| December | December as a month was one of the quietest Decembers since we started recording sting activity. This is almost certainly due to the fact that the second half of the month was very cold and the insects would almost certainly have been inactive as a result. This cold snap has extended in to January and is UK wide - it will be interesting to see how this affects sting activity for 2010.. |
| November | November was above average for both warmth and rain during 2009 - which would suggest that the above average temperature would mitigate the above average rain. However, the wind and rain nearly always works against insect activity outside and the heat seems to encourage activity indoors. Overall the month was below average for sting activity and for the year as a whole 2009 looks very similar to 2008 - again confirming an average sort of year - albeit with high extremes of both activity and inactivity. |
| October | The warm weather of September continued into October with above average seasonal temperatures and predictably above average sting activity. Overall the year has been one of very low activity at the season and high activity at the end of the season so the year overall looks like it will be an average sort of year for wasp and bee sting activity. |
| September | September continued apace with insect stinging activity well ahead of any year since 2004. It seemed to be a dry warm month for September and a number of items on the national news in the UK confirmed that pest controllers were also witnessing recording and sadly destroying a bumper number of wasp nests in the month. |
August |
Wow! This month truly powered into the record books with just under 75.000 visitors - a record - and at least the busiest month for the last five years - probably since our recording project started. It seems that the climate conditions just favoured wasp breeding perfectly in July and then in August the weather improved and they all came out to forage for food and encounter human beings. |
| July | A generally benign month on the weather front with good warm weather during the first half of the month followed by wetter somewhat cooler weather in the second half of the month. Sting activity was somewhat higher in July 2009 when compared to 2008 but still lower than the levels witnessed in the years prior to 2007. Overall, for the year to date sting activity is consistent with 2008. |
| June | The first half of June was quiet - like May - but then temperatures in the UK rose generally in the second half and rose to a crescendo by the end of the month making the last few days exceptionally busy. Notwithstanding the last busy week the month still showed below average sting levels for June and for the year as a whole sting activity contines to be below previous year . |
| May | May was a remarkably quiet month from the sting perspective with fewer bees and wasp stings recorded on the site in real terms than in any May since our records began. Sting levels were 75% lower than the record May in 2004 but even when compared to the last three years sting activity levels were some 25% down. Yet again further confirmation that stinging insect levels are dropping, a worrying indicator about our ecological balance perhaps. |
April |
Following on from March, April showed above average temperatures across the UK and both wasps and bees became noticeably more active. Our statistics indicate that April 2009 was slightly less active than April last year, and that the four months of 2009 to the end of April was also slightly below the levels witnessed in 2008. There is some publicity about the general reduction in the bee population and our own research would confirm that sting levels in 2009 are between 30% and 50% lower than they were in 2003/2004. |
| March | March was a pleasant month compared to the unseasonably cold weather of February. March was warmer than average and had below average rain particularly in the traditionally bee friendlier southern region of the country. This very clement weather meant that the queens erupted from hibernation and explored their surroundings in search of that elusive ideal location of the next wasp nest. The month in absolute terms was a record march but after taking into account the general increase in searches both the month of March and 2009 has so far proven to be pretty average. |
February |
How fascinating to see a significant drop in traffic for February. This coincides with a very cold snowy February across the UK generally and what is agreed to have been the coldest winter for 18 years. It is quite evident that the early bumble bees are about now in the southern part of the UK and that their early arrival has been seriously impeded by the particulary cold weather. It is of course worrying that the general numbers may be badly affected. Traffic volumes are more that 20% higher than 2008 for the first two months of the year. |
January |
Supposedly the coldest UK January for many years, the Wasp Watch Index showed a 30% increase in traffic when compared to the previous year, although once again this is in part a result of the general increase in the use of the internet rather than wasp swing incidence. We have noticed a significant increase in traffic from Australia during January - perhaps a result of their particularly hot summer, but nevertheless a distorting effect on the figures. |
