Wasp expert explains why there are so many at Alexandra Palace

The question on every darts fan’s lips watching the World Championship has been: Why on earth are there so many wasps at Alexandra Palace?

Well, we can finally bring you the answer you’ve been waiting for, as the unlikely stars of the tournament continue to pester players.

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We’ve seen some all-timer upsets, iconic walk-ons and incredible action at the World Darts Championship over the last week or so, but stealing the show most nights has been the Ally Pally wasp.

The insect, which has appeared at previous events over the years, forced champion Luke Littler to fight it off on opening night.

And since then, many players have come face-to-face with the wasp, with David Munyua taking that quite literally.

The Kenyan history-maker had one land on his cheek during his victory, during which he also grabbed it and put it in his pocket.

It has been a bizarre part of the World Championship so far, leaving fans confused as to why there has been a wasp appearing so often.

But now, speaking to talkSPORT, PhD student at UCL (University College London), Idris Adams, has explained why it is happening.

Why are there wasps at the darts?

Adams gave his expert insight to Hawksbee and Jacobs on Friday, saying: “The time of year is definitely the unusual thing here. The colony lifecycle of social wasps is that at the end of the year, November, December, the majority of the wasps in the colony will die.

“All of the workers, apart from the virgin queens, who will effectively go into hibernation over winter, find somewhere nice and warm and cosy to stay over winter.

“And likely the events happening at Ally Pally, the darts is very loud, lots of bright lights, lots of heat, they’re probably waking up those queens at a time they think it’s potentially spring.

“So, that’s waking them up and they’re coming out and looking for some resources or some mates, as they will mate in the spring usually.”

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Why are they inside Ally Pally at all?

The question of why the wasps have been inside Alexandra Palace at all still remained, but Adams had the answer to that too.

And it turns out that it signifies a positive for the wildlife in London.

“It could be the building, there’s probably just a good place for them to hide, lots of space for them,” Adams explained.

“But it’s actually quite good news for the wasp population around Ally Pally and north London generally, as it shows that the parks are providing plenty of space for a thriving wasp population.

“Which is a good thing, as they’re pollinators, pest controllers, decomposers.

“So, although it may be an inconvenience if you’re trying to play darts, it’s actually a good thing generally.”

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A sad reality

The Ally Pally wasps aren’t trying to sting the players on the World Championship stage, in fact, they are just ‘very confused’.

“It’s like if you went to sleep and someone woke you up in the middle of the night and you don’t really know what’s going on,” Adams added.

“The queens around this time are quite dopey, they’re not out to sting the players, they’re probably quite unsure on what’s happening.

“So, you kind of have to feel bad for them really.”

He continued: “Realistically, these wasps that have woken up around this time, they will probably die before the spring.

“It’s a shame but it could also be because of the weather this year, it’s been a mild spell over the past month or so, so that could also be having an effect on waking them up earlier than they usually would.”