We found this wonderful little place that serves amazing cakes and snacks. My husband and I were sensible (as befits our age) and shared a cheese sandwich. Our son and grandson ordered a “cake platter” – six pieces of creamy, spongey, fruity creations of cake. I can’t offer a photo because before I looked twice it was half gone. But as soon as they slowed down their fork movements, the yellowjacket marauders arrived. One wasp was the scout, he disappeared to fetch his friends, and any peace was gone.
Now we are relatively laid-back and we tried to ignore the little buggers without actually biting into them. Then one of them settled on my forearm, without me noticing, and — stung me! I nearly decapitated my son with the knife I was holding, the pain was so surprising and excruciating. I’ve never been stung by a wasp before and was amazed how much it hurts. I immediately heat treated the sting and the pain subsided (it kept flaring up over the next three, four days).
It is, in fact, illegal in Germany to kill a single wass in Germany (unless you’re allergic). You can be fined up to € 65,000. It was an impulse, and self-defense. Also, my grandson is allergic. So I think we’re good.
Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge: Macro in August
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pictures imperfect blog 
first you made me chuckle – with cakes just disappearing 😉 but then the story got dramatic. I hope you are completely recovered. didn’t know it was illegal to kill a wasp in Germany.
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They are a protected species. Even the “common wasp” and the “German wasp” – both rather aggressive and annoying in summer. But the high fines are reserved for rare varieties.
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Poor you. I hope the pain has eased now. I wonder how many people have actually been fined since the legislation came in?
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Interesting question. And I couldn’t find an answer to it. The fact is that this new regulation (and different amounts in each Bundesland, hey! it wouldn’t be fun if we weren’t a federal state) is the topic of many, many articles. The good news about this is that most articles not only give hints about what to do to keep wasps away from the bbq party foods but also explain why they are important in nature (even though they can be VERY annoying).
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To be fair, you were unlucky. They do’t usually sting.
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That is so sad. Luckily you didn’t pop one into your mouth!!! I have been stung by wasps a few times as there are all over the bush here. I get rid of them when the try to nest on my house, luckily there’s no fines here 🙂
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