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economist sunsuntribune divsersion saturday sept 3 2005 21 sensat 1 g never mind lack of statistical evidence aggressive bees and wasps are onthe prowl this year by chris traber staff writer ts not your imagination bees and wasps have been more annoying in york region of late some of you may even have found out the hard way while no hard statistical evi dence is available to confirm an increase in insect bites experts say wasps often become a problem in late summer and early fall it is mating season in late august and early september with the production of the next years generation the old queen dies and the social structure of the colony breaks down a shortage of available food ensues it is at this stage wasps most often become a problem around human activities by searching for food these late summer wasps often appear more frantic and may be more aggressive these late summer wasps often appear more frantic and may be more aggressive bees too appear increasingly dopey and aggressive as their pollen supply dwindles and they must resort to patrolling larger territories while most winged insects sting only in self defence the quest for survival will make them a bit more protective of their turf and close proximity to people may be inter preted as a threat york region ems education and training manager dave grant said it may not be as bad as this front porch scene but late summer bees and wasps are facing food shortages as mating season arrives and are making life difficult for some people bee and wasp bite reports are at most anecdotal and represent a low percentage of paramedic calls nonetheless if someone has allergies to insect venom and devel ops troubling symptoms they are best advised to call for help research shows that about 3 per cent of bee stings produce sys temic or allergic reactions mr grant said what symptoms develop after a bite merits whether ems should be called our crews are experts and if in doubt let them decide we never like to discourage anyone from call ing us people with bee or wasp venom allergies are encouraged to always have a dose of epinephrine readily available the chemical found naturally in the human body quickly counters negative reaction and is normally administered in a commercially available pen form systemic reaction comes in varying degrees he said the most severe form is anaphylactic shock the reaction involves most if not all of the skin cardiac and respira tory functions its severely life threatening and without treatment you will die relatively rare less than 1 per cent of the population is susceptible to anaphylactic shock the best defence against agitat ed bees and wasps is prevention and avoidance mr grant said if one of the critters does sting try and remove the offending stinger as fast as possible the stringer has a barb with a sac of venom attached and the quicker its off the less venom is injected he said the general instinct is to swipe see first page 22 i le carre novel makes superb political drama anne brodie on movies the constant gardener starring ralph fiennes rachel weisz danny huston directed by fernando meirelles a thrilling and superbly made political suspense drama from the director whose last film city of god exposed corruption and evil in rio de janeiro in this outing fernando meirelles takes us to kenya a land with deeply and irrevocably divid ed social classes the very rich and the very poor though the countiy is exotic and tantalizing just over the breathtaking hills are the town ships vast tin roofed shanty cities crammed with poor people with zero education and less future french and english diplomats inhabit gracious mansions in the nicer parts of northern kenya separate and apart and symbolic of contemporary imperialism its in the nice diplomatic parts we find justin and tessa quayle ralph fiennes and rachel weisz a happily married english couple who are completely different in temperament hes a doormat shes politically radical the african and foreign diplo mats have reason to fear her she and a trusted friend are researching pharmaceutical com panies involvement in kenya they know there is much activ ity that appears to be enriching a lot of people tessa sees people in the camps dying mysteriously she asks questions and is told the people never existed tessa believes international companies are testing unfinished drugs on africans she says so to a delegation of politicians and businessmen dur ing an official cocktail party 4 see plot page 22 sell locally get local exposure for your business by advertising in york region business times our business readership includes owners managers and other key decision makers as well as chamber of commerce and board of trade members affordable advertising campaigns tailored to small and large businesses ad rates start at 70 per month and include professional copywriting and design r call our sales department for information 9052942200 targeted distribution of 1 6000 monthly- copies