Audric Moses has seen a few late-summer wasp outbreaks around his Edmonton home over the past seven years, but nothing like what he saw last week.

B次元官网网址淢y wife said, B次元官网网址楬ey, come on out here. You need to see this,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淭here were apples in the tree that were completely covered in wasps, inside and outside of the apples. They were just eating their way into the centre, leaving a hollow skin of an apple behind.

B次元官网网址淭he population of wasps just seems to have exploded in the last week.B次元官网网址�

Late summer is often wasp time on the Prairies, as the little stingers go through their natural cycle. But this season seems a bit more yellow-and-black than normal.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e been hearing a lot from southern and central Alberta that it seems like itB次元官网网址檚 big wasp season,B次元官网网址� said University of Alberta entomologist Maya Evenden.

ItB次元官网网址檚 the same to the east, said her colleague Sarah Wood at the University of Saskatchewan.

B次元官网网址淚 do hear from people who are getting stung in their backyards,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淧opulations may be higher this year than average.B次元官网网址�

Many would agree.

On Friday, kindergarten to Grade 9 students at EdmontonB次元官网网址檚 Shauna May Seneca School were kept indoors for recess because there were too many wasps in the schoolyard. Restaurant servers in the city have also been warning prospective patio-sitters that they may have fellow diners in yellow jackets.

The City of Edmonton says its pest management team has removed 374 wasp nests so far this year and is in the process of removing more. Last year, it got rid of 121.

While there may be a bit more buzz to this summerB次元官网网址檚 wasp season, thereB次元官网网址檚 nothing new about the reasons for it. Wasp demographics and food supplies create the same effect every year.

Firstly, said Evenden, wasp colonies have had all summer to nurture their eggs and bring larvae to adulthood. By now, thereB次元官网网址檚 a whole new generation of grown-up wasps thirsty for a sip of the wine in your glass.

B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檝e had that season to build up their colony size,B次元官网网址� Evenden said. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 more of them from each colony.B次元官网网址�

Evenden added that unusually hot weather across the Prairies in July may have quickened the growth of the larvae and helped more of them survive.

As well, late summer is when wasp diets shift. Earlier in the summer, wasps are able to feed their young without too much trouble B次元官网网址� a balanced diet of flower pollen and the larvae and young of other insects.

But by this point in the season, those prey insects have all grown up and flowers arenB次元官网网址檛 quite as abundant.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 less nectar available in the environment,B次元官网网址� said Wood.

B次元官网网址淭hey need to look for other resources. ThatB次元官网网址檚 why theyB次元官网网址檙e after human food as well as honeybeesB次元官网网址� food. ThereB次元官网网址檚 just less to go around.B次元官网网址�

That relative scarcity has another effect that does not go unnoticed.

B次元官网网址淭hey seem a little bit more aggressive,B次元官网网址� said Evenden.

Evenden said people should look more kindly on wasps. TheyB次元官网网址檙e important plant pollinators and play significant ecosystem roles, even in suburban backyards.

B次元官网网址淧eople give them a bad rap,B次元官网网址� she said.

But Moses wishes theyB次元官网网址檇 play that role somewhere else. A wasp trap he set out in his backyard was full of dead bugs in a day.

B次元官网网址淎ll of the liquid bait was gone,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚t was just wasp bodies.

B次元官网网址淚t was dangerous. We couldnB次元官网网址檛 go into some parts of our yard.B次元官网网址�

The outbreak in his yard may be abating, a little. The next wasp trap took two days to fill.

As the fall weather cools, wasps stop laying eggs and slow down. Eventually, all the wasps in the colony die, except for a few fertilized females that hunker down for the winter to wait for spring.

Then they can begin rebuilding the colony and start the whole cycle over again.