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RTÉ News
07-08-2025
- General
- RTÉ News
Here's what to do when wasps crash your picnic
Analysis: There's a reason why wasps prefer jam to ham in late summer and it's down to what is going on inside the colony By , UCL It's summer in the northern hemisphere and that means sun, sea – and wasps. A lot of us have been taught to fear wasps as aggressive insects that exist only to make our lives a misery. But with unsustainable wildlife loss across the planet, we need to learn to live alongside all organisms – even wasps. They are important pollinators and predators of insects. A little knowledge about their natural history can help you dine safely alongside wasps. The wasps that usually visit your picnic are typically the common yellowjacket (Vespula vulgaris) and the German wasp (Vespula germanica). They seem to appear from nowhere so what should you do? Stay still or she'll think you're a predator Her (all workers are female) smell receptors have got her to your picnic table, but she's now using visual landmarks (you and your surroundings) to orientate her way to the food on your plate. Keep your mouth closed and avoid breathing heavily to minimise the release of carbon dioxide, which wasps use as a cue that a predator is attacking. Similarly, if you start flapping and shouting, you are behaving like a predator (mainly badgers in the UK), which might trigger the wasp's attack mode. From RTÉ Lyric FM's Naturefile, a look at wasps with Anja Murray Watch what she is eating This is a worker wasp. She is looking for food to feed to her sibling larvae in her mother's papery looking nest. Is she carving off a lump of ham, gathering a dollop of jam or slurping at your sugary drink? Watch what she is eating because this gives you a clue to what your wasp offering will be. She is so focused on her task that she won't notice you watching. Make a wasp-offering to keep her from bothering you Before you know it, she's off with jaws full of jam or a hunk of ham. She might zigzag away from your table – a sign that she is reorientating for a reliable return. Once landmarks are mapped, she will fly straight and fast. If you followed her, she would lead you to her nest. But you are better off using your time to prepare your wasp offering, because she's going to come back soon. Your offering should be a portion of whatever she harvested from your plate. You can move it slightly away from the rest of your food. If you let her have her share, you too can dine in peace. You can gradually move your wasp offering further away from you. Wasp offerings are well-tested techniques around the world, whether you're looking to track down a wasp nest to eat, or keep customers unbothered by wasps at an outdoor restaurant. From RTÉ Radio 1's Mooney Goes Wild, the panel answer questions about the common wasp Happily, your picnic friend is unlikely to bring a swarm of wasps to your table, because social wasps are poor recruiters. This makes sense because wasp food (insects, carrion) is usually a scattered, short-lived resource. One caterpillar doesn't necessarily mean there's a huge patch of them, for example. This contrasts with honeybees, for which there has been strong natural selection for the evolution of a communication system (waggle dance) to recruit many foragers to a patch of flowers. However, you might get a few wasps at your picnic, especially if the nest is close, just by chance. Wasps tend to be attracted to a forage source by the presence of other wasps. If she sees a few wasps gathered, then she will investigate. But if there are too many wasps, this puts her off. Wasps' changing feeding habits You may already know that wasps go crazy for sugar at the end of the summer. But why do they prefer a protein earlier in the season? It depends on what is going on inside the colony – and this changes with the season. Wasp larvae are carnivorous. Together, the workers rear thousands of larvae. If your wasp wants ham (or some other protein source) at your picnic, you know her colony is full of hungry larvae. You might notice this in early-to-mid summer – and no later than mid-to-late August. Enjoy the knowledge that you are helping feed armies of tiny pest controllers, who will soon set to work regulating populations of flies, caterpillars, aphids and spiders. A defining feature of an adult wasp is the tiny petiole (wasp-waist). This constriction between her thorax and abdomen evolved so her ancestors could bend their abdomens, yoga-style, to parasitise or paralyse their prey. The wasp-waist of an adult worker limits her to a largely liquid diet. She is like a waiter who must deliver feasts to customers without tasting it. The larvae tip her service with a nutritious liquid secretion, which she supplements with nectar from flowers. For much of the season, this is enough. Blend science and a picnic Towards the end of the summer, most wasp larvae have pupated – and a pupated larva doesn't need feeding. So, demand for protein foraging diminishes, as do the sweet secretions that have kept the workers nourished. This means worker wasps must now visit flowers for nectar – although your jam scone or sweet lemonade may also be exceedingly tempting. If your wasp is fixated on sugar at your table, then you know her colony is likely to be in its twilight phase of life. Although time of the year is a good indicator of the balance of ham-to-jam in a wasp's foraging preferences, weather, prey availability, local competition and rate of colony growth can influence them too. This means the switch from ham to jam this year may be different to next year. We'd like you to help us gather data on this, to improve predictions on whether to offer your wasps ham or jam. To take part, report here whether the wasp at your picnic wanted protein (such as chicken, hummus, beef or sausage), jam (or anything sugary, including sugary drinks), or both.
Irish Examiner
29-05-2025
- Science
- Irish Examiner
Like a phoenix... rare woodpecker spotted in city park
He, with his beak, examines well Which fit to stand and which to fell — Andrew Marvell Having lived for 500 years, the Phoenix perished in flames on its nest. Then a new Phoenix arose from the ashes. The sculpture on the pillar in Dublin's Phoenix Park depicts the pivotal moment. Now another rebirth is underway... a bird, long absent from Ireland as a breeding species, has returned to the Park. Claims of woodpecker 'drumming' being heard there have been made in recent years. Now a recording, broadcast on the Mooney Goes Wild radio show, confirms the bird's presence. The great-spotted woodpecker has several calls in its repertoire, but it doesn't actually 'sing'. Instead, it produces loud staccato-like drumrolls by striking its bill on hollow tree-trunks. Both sexes 'drum'; females sometimes initiate 'antiphonal duets'. The thrush-sized great-spotted is 'great' compared to its smaller cousin, the 'lesser-spotted'. An exotic-looking pied-coloured creature, with conspicuous white shoulder patches, it sometimes visits bird-tables. The male has a crimson skull-cap. Woodpecker bones were found in ancient cave deposits at two localities in County Clare — the bird was an Irish resident at least up to early Christian times. Our island had extensive forests long ago. A squirrel, it is said, could have travelled from the Atlantic to the Irish Sea without ever touching the ground. The destruction of its trees rendered Ireland the least forested country in Europe. That could explain the woodpecker's disappearance. The great spotted woodpecker (dendrocopos major) was likely common across Ireland once — it was referred to in early Irish medieval poetry. As woodlands were cleared for agriculture and iron smelting, woodpeckers would have found themselves increasingly homeless and hungry. It is thought they probably became extinct as a breeding species during the 17th or 18th centuries. But these forest-dwellers didn't abandon us entirely; vagrant ones were recorded here in most years. However, like the mythical Phoenix, they have taken their time before starting to nest. With reforestation, the great-spotted has extending its range gradually in Northern England and Scotland. It began nesting in the Isle of Man during the late 1990s. Then, in 2006, came our breakthrough — a pair nested in County Down. Three years later, breeding was confirmed in Wicklow. The prodigal had returned. This sedentary bird seldom travels far from its natal roots. "The median distance of all recoveries of birds found dead is just 2 kilometres from the ringing site," says The Migration Atlas. Woodpeckers seldom venture more than 40 kilometres from home. Occasionally, however, 'eruptions' occur; birds move suddenly en masse. Did woodpeckers cross the Irish Sea to Antrim and Wicklow in separate eruptions? Over the last two decades, the new settlers spread southwards from Wicklow and northwards from Down. According to the Biological Records Centre, they are breeding now in all Irish counties. The Wicklow birds' northward exodus seemed to have been stalled, like that of a besieging army, before the walls of Dublin. Had the city impeded further spread? It seems unlikely... woodpeckers nest in London gardens. Their arrival in the Phoenix Park, the largest enclosed urban area of its kind in Europe, reassures us city folk. We felt we were being snubbed by the bird. A woodpecker doing what a woodpecker does. A video clip of the male Great Spotted Woodpecker (denoted by red patch on back of the head) taken yesterday at River Birch photography Hide Mullingar Ireland. — Joe McNeill (@joemcneillphoto) May 8, 2025 The Park habitat seems ideal for woodpeckers, even if dead trees are often removed. The birds find it easier to make nest-holes in dead wood and hollow tree-trunks resonate well when tapped. Oddly, the great spotted, 'guardian of the forest', is known elsewhere as the 'rain bird'. Drumming might, perhaps, sound vaguely like distant thunder, forecasting rain to soften the ground, fostering renewal and new growth, phoenix-style.
Irish Independent
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
RTÉ presenter Katie Hannon hot favourite to replace Joe Duffy on Liveline
RTÉ insiders told the Sunday World that Katie had been scheduled to fill in for Duffy on Liveline for the next fortnight before Joe made the shock announcement last Thursday that he's set to retire from the show after his 27-year run as its host. Regular Liveline fill-in Katie is the bookmaker's favourite to replace Joe ahead of Ray D'Arcy, Claire Byrne and Sean Moncrieff from Newstalk. Katie herself hasn't commented either way on whether she is interested in the Liveline job. She is said to be waiting out of courtesy until Joe has left the role. On Saturday, legendary RTÉ presenter Derek Mooney, who filled in on Liveline in the past, said that whoever sits in the hot seat after Duffy will face a major challenge emerging from his formidable shadow. 'Joe really made Liveline his own and anyone who is going to follow him has got to be themselves, because if you even sound a little bit like Joe Duffy you are going to get hammered,' Derek says. Although he is not in the running himself to take over from veteran broadcaster Duffy (69), Mooney says he wouldn't be interested if he was offered it because it's an onerous role. 'I don't think I would like to do it even if I was asked,' says Derek, whose Mooney Goes Wild show is currently celebrating 30 years on air. 'Liveline is very heavy. I'd rather be doing nature and live entertainment. I just think Liveline takes too much out of the person presenting it. It's like being in the confessional and you are listening to people telling you their deepest, darkest thoughts. 'You have the headphones on and all of that negative news is coming into your head and you can't get away from it. I wouldn't like that because 90 per cent of it is negative. 'They are phoning Joe as a last resort mostly, let's be honest. They've tried this, that and the other and Joe is going to sort it. I think he will be a super hard act to follow and it takes a certain type of person to do it. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more 'It's different in a magazine programme where you are bringing on interesting guests the whole time. With Liveline you are bringing on real people with real stories and usually they are really troubled. 'With his skill, Joe is very much involved in the running of the programme and so up to date on current affairs and social issues. I think he is just brilliant 'There is light and shade in a magazine programme and to his credit Joe also brought that to Liveline.' Mooney had the experience of filling in on Liveline for a month one summer. 'The time I did it was great experience because who wouldn't jump at the opportunity to fill in for Joe Duffy,' he says. 'If you want to start making a career, to fill in on the biggest show on radio after Gay Byrne left the station was massive. 'I remember the first interview I did on Liveline was with a guy called Brian O'Driscoll, who had been hired to drive the then British Ambassador Christopher Ewart-Biggs and their car was blown up in Dublin by an IRA bomb. 'Ewart-Biggs and his 26-year-old secretary Judith Cooke were killed. Brian was injured but survived. We did the entire Liveline with Brian and listeners contributing.' As a radio producer, Derek also produced one of Marian Finucane's last Liveline programmes. 'I had a troupe of male strippers called The Chain Gang on because, of course, they were causing outrage around the country at the time,' Derek laughs. 'Listeners were up in arms about them. They were asked 'how far would they go?' 'The whole way.' It was pure nonsense and Marian loved it. Marian had a sense of devilment about her.' Derek jokes that even if he put his name in the RTÉ hat to take over from Joe Duffy on Liveline, he probably wouldn't be considered for the role. 'When I was asked if I had put my hat in the ring for the Late Late Show after Ryan Tubridy left I said, 'I threw my hat in and it was thrown out several times',' he adds.
Sunday World
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Hot favourite RTÉ presenter Katie Hannon lined up to replace Joe Duffy on Liveline
Regular Liveline fill-in Katie is Paddy Power's favourite to replace Joe on a 3/1 tip ahead of Ray D'Arcy, Claire Byrne and Sean Moncrieff from Newstalk RTÉ presenter Katie Hannon is set to take over Liveline from Joe Duffy – for the next two weeks. Top broadcaster Katie is also tipped as the favourite to replace Duffy when he retires from the juggernaut show on June 27. RTÉ insiders told the Sunday World that Katie had been scheduled to fill in for Duffy on Liveline from yesterday before Joe made the shock announcement last Thursday that he's set to retire from the show after his 27-year run as its host. Regular Liveline fill-in Katie is Paddy Power's favourite to replace Joe on a 3/1 tip ahead of Ray D'Arcy, Claire Byrne and Sean Moncrieff from Newstalk. Katie herself hasn't commented either way on whether she is interested in the Liveline job. She is said to be waiting out of courtesy until Joe has left the role. Joe Duffy is taking a break from Liveline On Saturday, legendary RTÉ presenter Derek Mooney, who filled in on Liveline in the past, said that whoever sits in the hot seat after Duffy will face a major challenge emerging from his formidable shadow. 'Joe really made Liveline his own and anyone who is going to follow him has got to be themselves, because if you even sound a little bit like Joe Duffy you are going to get hammered,' Derek says. Although he is not in the running himself to take over from veteran broadcaster Duffy (69), Mooney says he wouldn't be interested if he was offered it because it's an onerous role. 'I don't think I would like to do it even if I was asked,' says Derek, whose Mooney Goes Wild show is currently celebrating 30 years on air. 'Liveline is very heavy. I'd rather be doing nature and live entertainment. I just think Liveline takes too much out of the person presenting it. It's like being in the confessional and you are listening to people telling you their deepest, darkest thoughts. 'You have the headphones on and all of that negative news is coming into your head and you can't get away from it. I wouldn't like that because 90 per cent of it is negative. 'They are phoning Joe as a last resort mostly, let's be honest. They've tried this, that and the other and Joe is going to sort it. I think he will be a super hard act to follow and it takes a certain type of person to do it. 'It's different in a magazine programme where you are bringing on interesting guests the whole time. With Liveline you are bringing on real people with real stories and usually they are really troubled. 'With his skill, Joe is very much involved in the running of the programme and so up to date on current affairs and social issues. I think he is just brilliant 'There is light and shade in a magazine programme and to his credit Joe also brought that to Liveline.' Mooney had the experience of filling in on Liveline for a month one summer. 'The time I did it was great experience because who wouldn't jump at the opportunity to fill in for Joe Duffy,' he says. 'If you want to start making a career, to fill in on the biggest show on radio after Gay Byrne left the station was massive. Katie Hannon and Joe Duffy News in 90 seconds - 12th May 2025 'I remember the first interview I did on Liveline was with a guy called Brian O'Driscoll, who had been hired to drive the then British Ambassador Christopher Ewart-Biggs and their car was blown up in Dublin by an IRA bomb. 'Ewart-Biggs and his 26-year-old secretary Judith Cooke were killed. Brian was injured but survived. We did the entire Liveline with Brian and listeners contributing.' As a radio producer, Derek also produced one of Marian Finucane's last Liveline programmes. 'I had a troupe of male strippers called The Chain Gang on because, of course, they were causing outrage around the country at the time,' Derek laughs. 'Listeners were up in arms about them. They were asked 'how far would they go?' 'The whole way.' It was pure nonsense and Marian loved it. Marian had a sense of devilment about her.' Derek jokes that even if he put his name in the RTÉ hat to take over from Joe Duffy on Liveline, he probably wouldn't be considered for the role. 'When I was asked if I had put my hat in the ring for the Late Late Show after Ryan Tubridy left I said, 'I threw my hat in and it was thrown out several times',' he adds.
The Irish Sun
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
‘My legs were jelly' – How unlikely RTE star triumphed on Pope special coverage with notes from backroom & no computer
DEREK Mooney has told how he thought RTE bosses were away with the birds — when they asked him to go live on the Pope's death. The Mooney Goes Wild host had been due to host a two-hour nature special on Advertisement 4 Derek Mooney was forced to abandon his two-hour nature special 4 Pope Francis passed away on the Easter bank holiday Credit: EPA 4 Pallbearers carry the coffin of Pope Francis during his funeral Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Credit: Reuters But tragedy struck minutes before they went on air on April 21 when it was announced Flanked by three wildlife experts, Derek was asked to abandon his nature broadcast and for the next two hours discuss Pope Francis' shock passing, interviewing bigwigs including Archbishop Desmond Martin and former President Mary McAleese. Derek told us: 'I don't think people could believe I was the one telling them the Pope was dead. I couldn't believe it either.' The broadcast, where the unprepared wildlife boffin was forced to abandon his nature special and cover the pontiff's death was turned into a sketch by Oliver Callan on Callan's Kicks. Advertisement READ MORE IN SHOWBIZ But the real Derek was more than up to the challenge, ad-libbing and interviewing religious experts — a task that would have challenged the most seasoned broadcasters in The wildlife host even quoted from 2019 movie The Two Popes to discuss Francis' personality. Derek told us: 'You can get an impression of someone from seeing a film. "And I knew from watching that film how the previous pope, Benedict, had been a serious fella and Pope Francis had more of a sense of joy about him.' Advertisement MOST READ ON THE IRISH SUN Exclusive Latest Mooney, 58, couldn't even rely on a computer in front of him for notes, as a glitch meant he hadn't been able to log on. Trump jokes he 'wants to be pope' following Francis' death However, Derek triumphed on the Pope special, with colleagues saying he deserved some sort of award for his coverage. He said: 'I came off air and my legs were like jelly. I'd been terrified that I'd say the wrong thing. 'I thought the broadcast showed RTE in the best light because listeners got all the information they needed from the backroom team of editor Jack Murphy, my researcher Michelle Brown, broadcast co-ordinator Stephen Higgins and sound guy Niall McMonagle. Advertisement 'They just kept passing me notes into the studio about what religious expert I was interviewing next. "I did have to explain to listeners a few times why it was me, Derek Mooney, on air covering The Pope's death.' A-LIST LIFT It's a big weekend for the broadcaster, famous for his 'Byeee' catchphrase, with Mooney Goes Wild celebrating 30 years on air. Derek jokes that his knowledge of nature is better than Pope or pop. Advertisement Years ago the TV host gave Derek told us: 'It was just after Robbie left "Robbie asked if he could play me his new song, and put a cassette on in my car. 'He then asked what I thought of his new song. I told him I thought it was rubbish. It was called Angel.' Advertisement 4 Derek was tasked with interviewing former President Mary McAleese Credit: Getty Images - Getty
