A Couple of Shakes

We live in a reasonably active area, at least as far as seismic activity is concerned. And earthquakes have no respect for a good night's rest, so at about twenty past five local time this morning, we were shaken awake by quite a good rumble. The epicentre of this nocturnal motion (if you'll pardon the expression) was literally just up the road form us, as can be seen in the map to the left (click on it for a larger image), provided by the Instituto Geográfico Nacional. The maximum magnitude was 2.8 and here in El Raso it was probably about 2.7. Not bad for a night's work.

As if that wasn't enough excitement for the day, this afternoon, at about twenty-five past three, there was a nasty little blip, which felt as if it was just below us. This time the epicentre was first reported by the Instituto to have been just off the coast, next to the lake at the bottom of El Raso, but that information was later corrected, to place the epicentre to the north-west of Guardamar, as can be seen in the following map:

This rumble had a magnitude of 3.2.

Who knows? There might be more to come, so batten down the hatches; make everything ship-shape and Bristol-fashion.

David Neale

A special visitor

Megascolia maculata flavifrons (female)

Elise and I are privileged to have a rather unusual visitor to our garden, namely a mammoth wasp, or a Megascolia maculata flavifrons (also known as Scolia flavifrons). I believe that this is the largest wasp in Europe.

And it really does live up to its "mammoth" name, for it is at least 5cm long. In fact, I have spotted two individuals, the larger one at 5cm or more and a smaller one that is perhaps 4.5cm long. Both of them are impressive creatures.

Both of them are also females. The body of the female mammoth wasp is black with large yellow markings. She has strong wings, tinged with amber, resembling the skin of an onion, showing crimson in the variegated light. Her legs are coarse, with a knotted appearance and are very hairy. She has a huge body and a powerful head, which is well protected by a hard skull. Her flight is quite low and is surprisingly quiet for such a large insect. The male mommoth wasp, which I have not yet seen, is less colourful and of finer frame.

The mammoth wasp does not attack humans (no European wasps do, except out of self-defence, so stop waving your arms about). Instead, it hunts out the larvae of the rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes nasicornis), which it paralyses with its sting in order to lay a single egg in the beetle's body. When it emerges, the larva of Megascolia then devours that of the Oryctes.

Size comparison with ordinary wasp (Vespula vulgaris)

And here's a little video (the quality is far better than the preview image).

You can see more unusual visitors to our garden here.

David Neale

Jai-Pe Services

A new service has just been inaugurated in the Euroterra Commercial Centre of El Raso. The business is called Jai-Pe Services and has been the subject of numerous rumours.

No, it is not a new venture started by the owners of the Indian restaurant next door to the premises.

No, it is not a Gamma supermarket outlet.

No, it is not a hairdresser.

No…

Well, you get the idea.

What it is, is rather difficult to describe in just a few words. First, a bit of history. Some time ago, before the urbanisation El Raso was built, a young couple in Guardamar decided to branch out on their own, offering cleaning services to local businesses and communities of owners. Pedro and Maribel decided to call their new company Jai-Pe, a strange-sounding name, perhaps, but all becomes clear when you learn that they had a single apple of their eye; the name of the little lad (for little he was at the time) was Jairo.

Got it? Jai (from Jairo) and Pe (from Pedro), forming the exotic-sounding Jai-Pe.

Well, the cleaning business in Guardamar flourished and Jai-Pe extended its services to include individual properties and all aspects of cleaning: windows, tiles, terraces, garages… they'll come along and do an excellent job, as several users of their services on El Raso and within our own community will testify.

Maribel, knowing a good thing when she sees it (well, she married Pedro, didn't she?) recently decided that there might be a gap in the market and thought El Raso would be a good place to test her theory. Pedro saw something in it, too, so the couple leased one of the units in the commercial centre and have now set it up as a sort of information and contact centre.

Not only can you go to the establishment to buy cleaning products of all sorts, but Jai-Pe Services also offers a collaboration service, so that, should you need to find, say, a bricklayer, or a plumber, or a gardener, or a locksmith, or a carpenter, or a metalworker, or anything else to do with the maintenance of your property, you need only visit Jai-Pe Services and their staff will help you find just who you need. They'll even find you translators and interpreters if you wish.

Of course, you can also arrange to have your property cleaned, either on a regular basis, or just when you wish, and Jai-Pe Services will also act as key-holder for you when you are not here, but still need your property to be accessible.

Jairo (the apple of his parents' eye, remember?) is now a young man, recently graduated from higher education, and he has taken on the responsibility of running the new Jai-Pe Services office in El Raso. He has a small staff to help him.

You can find out more about Jai-Pe Services at their website, which will soon also be available in English.

David Neale