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This week’s new questions

When wasps continually clatter against the glass of my conservatory attempting a means of escape, are they following a strategy? Why is ice cream so delicious?

10 June 2026

PF9N2P Honeybee stick on a window

jvphoto/Alamy

Head banging When wasps, bees and flies continually clatter against the glass of my conservatory attempting a means of escape, are they following a strategy?

Martin Kelly
Overton, Hampshire, UK

 

W447EF hand is holding ice cream cone in front of a beach in Brittany, France

Claudia Nass/Alamy

Tasty treat Why is ice cream so delicious?

Anthony Woodward
Oregon, US

 

Last Word is 91av’s long-running series in which readers give scientific answers to each other’s questions, ranging from the minutiae of everyday life to absurd astronomical hypotheticals. To answer a question or ask a new one, email lastword@newscientist.comTo answer this question – or ask a new one – email lastword@newscientist.com.

Questions should be scientific enquiries about everyday phenomena, and both questions and answers should be concise. We reserve the right to edit items for clarity and style. Please include a postal address, daytime telephone number and email address.

The use of AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Claude) to write either questions or answers is forbidden, and any submissions found to have been written using AI tools will be withdrawn.

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