Ham or Jam: Wasp Picnic Survey 2026
Summer time means wasps visiting picnics! Sometimes they go for protein (e.g. ham), other times it’s sugar (e.g. jam). Learning about the type of food wasps are after tells us about their life-cycle and can help us better manage them.
Tell us what you’ve seen wasps do this summer at your picnic in this short survey.
Did your picnic wasp want Ham (protein) or Jam (sugar)? Take part in our quick survey here!
Why should I take part?
- Wasps are important pest-controllers and pollinators. Read more here.
- Learning to share your meal with a wasp can help break the difficult relationship that humans have with wasps. Read more here.
- 2026’s heatwaves are proving challenging for wasps; feeding them a little of your food/drink will help them a little. Read more here.
Do you run a cafe, pub, or restaurant?
We’d love it if you’d print out this poster and pin it up in your outdoor dining space, to encourage your visitors to take part.
Ham or Jam media highlights
-
BBC Radio 4 · Today Programme
-
The Times
Wasps vanishing thanks to wild weather — and in come the flies
Our stripy friends appear to have dwindled due to variations in the climate as well as pest control.
-
Credit: Jackie Bale
The Telegraph
Flies lord it over wasps after summer weather extremes
Tropical conditions lead to explosion in pest numbers as population of their main predator declines.
-
Times Radio
-
LBC Radio
-
Credit: Dabuch/Shutterstock
The Conversation
Where have all the wasps gone this summer?