Wasps

The Detail podcast brings you the issues behind the news every weekday. Here's what we covered this week. Audio

Having trouble getting rid of fruit flies at home or in the office? Don't be surprised - they're 'brainer' than you think. Christopher Potter, associate professor of neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins… Audio

Approval has been granted to import and release two new organisms, a hoverfly and beetle, in a bid to reduce plague populations of invasive German and common wasps in New Zealand. Dr Chris Hill… Audio

Wasps are a plague every summer, the unwelcome harasser at your picnic or tramping rest stop. Kathryn talks to Gemma McLaughlin, a PhD candidate at Otago University, who's at the forefront of efforts… Audio

We're coming into spring and along with the blooming trees and rising temperatures, there are also wasps! Every spring wasps rise from the winter and make their way around the country.  Audio

Deep in the bowels of a lifestyle block on the east coast of Lake Rotorua there is a monster ... two metres tall by two metres wide. Buzzing ominiously. A harbinger of fear, and doom Audio

January and February are when invasive wasp populations boom, damaging the native eco-system. New Zealand has some of the highest densities of German and common wasps in the world which present a huge… Audio

Wasps are a big problem in New Zealand, and scientists hope that knowing the genomes of common and German wasps will help them find novel ways of controlling the pests. Audio

University of Otago insect researcher Dr Jenny Jandt is in love with creatures most of us try to exterminate - wasps and ants. She's known as the Wasp Lady and says there's much to be admired in both… Audio, Gallery

Tom Saunders has named a native parasitoid wasp after a Harry Potter character, in a bid to improve the reputation of these 'good' wasps. Audio

The giant willow aphid is infesting willows, apple and pear trees, some native trees and shelterbelts on some kiwifruit orchards. Entomologist Stephanie Sopow is heading to the United States to search… Audio