Prologue
The fallen tree lay in a paddock behind Beth’s house. A fierce mountain storm had uprooted it the previous autumn. Beth had tried to cut it up for firewood, but the giant gum tree and its broad hardwood trunk proved too much of a challenge for her small chainsaw. Eventually she’d hired a local handyman. Although he had yet to complete the task, Beth didn’t mind too much. She knew that fallen timber was an asset in the natural scheme of things, providing a habitat for scores of insects.
She did not foresee that this might include European wasps.
One bright spring morning, high above Beth’s house, a wasp queen was searching for a place to nest. Her big yellow body and jet black bands distinguished her from most other insects. Long black antennae, set high on her head, tasted the
