Why do it to the hover fly?

As a kid, I loved witnessing the hover fly, hovering (as it does) over a many varied plant, flower and such like. I would wait to see, if I put my finger or hand close enough, if it would land on me. When one did, I tell you, as a kid, it was one of the best feelings in the world, because, to me, it was like that little yellow and black stripey entitity trusted me enough to land on me.

Of course, being a young one at the time, there was the odd occasion when I got a hover fly mixed up with what was actually a wasp, which at that age, would scare me a tad. It would be a gasp, and then run!!

Now every year, although I am now nearing my 30's, I still get that little excited twinge when I start seeing the odd hover fly appear and the all of a sudden there are masses of them, all doing their hover thing that they do best (name very appropriate if you ask me!).

This year, I get the happy smile on my face, a hover fly landed on my hand without me even noticing (he must trust me lots!) and without me even asking with my hand or finger. Bliss. I actually feel slightly appreciated. However, this year we notice far more of an influx of wasps (please note, I am trying not to think about if the wasps have created a nest in our loft, ahhhhh!). This year the wasp (mainly of the german kind) have actually ruined things that I do on a day to day basis (well some daily, others not so much). Having a quiet cuppa outside - wasp buzzing round my head and face and bottom of the trouser leg ( now thats scary), hanging the washing out on the line, taking the recycling to the recylcing bin outside our fence, doing the maintenance on my car ( one actually managed to have a good old try at zapping me, and almost won, and it hurt). Opening the windows in our house to get the air through. And one of my favourite past-times of just witnessing the hover fly amongst all the other creatures in the garden, doing their thing.

The common wasp, and I have to say I have actually never seen this ever in my lifetime before, are murderous to our little friends the hover fly. They literally swoop in on the poor unsuspecting hover fly, and sting him until he is stunned, and then proceed to pull apart (disect if you will), this little chap that has never been a threat to anyone. I have bore witness to this with my own eyes, and I don't like it. I will not go into further detail as to how they do this, as do not want people to feel queasy reading this, surfice to say, it is not pleasant.

So I am hoping that these wasps are certainly not as much "in force" next year, because I want my summer to be a normal summer where I can hang my washing on the line and so on and so fourth.

I also would like to witness those litte hover flies, flying (or hover if you will), back to how it used to be, because lets face it, the wasps are meanies and muderers in my book - c'mon - why do it to the hover fly?

Signing out with a smile :)