Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/523863
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 7 JUNE 2015 38 This Week There is more to wasps than that sting in their nether end. To start with, we have several species, ranging in size from the really tiny to, well, to the Large Yellow-banded Scolid Wasp! You see, name isn't the only big thing this wasp has, it really is massive, indeed it's the biggest wasp in Europe (also known as Mammoth Wasp). One look at this hairy black apparition will send most people scurrying. But for all its menacing looks – especially the fabulous orange-headed female, which is substantially larger than the male – it's not particularly aggressive. I regularly approach these beauties to photograph them bingeing on flower nectar and never been once molested. In Maltese it's known as Qerd iż-Żaqquq, "żaqquq" presumably referring to the larva of large beetles (Rhinoceros Beetle with this species) which the female wasps hunt out, sting, paralyze and lay their egg on, in this way securing a food supply for their young when they hatch. Nasty, I know. Let's just be thankful we're not Rhinoceros Beetles. 457. LARGE YELLOW-BANDED SCOLID WASP GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 360: ACT NOW! – Help us protect nature by making your voice heard – visit http://www.foemalta.org/links/naturealert The whole process of reviewing the European Nature Directives started in January 2015 and will take more than a year. But right now is an important time for the public to express their opinion because the European Commission is running a public consultation to help it understand how important nature protection and its laws are to EU citizens. By taking this online action you will be helping to demonstrate that people across the EU want nature to be better protected through keeping our nature laws intact and not to be weakened. The relevance of the Nature Directives to EU citizens and their support for nature is one of the key considerations that the Commission must take into account in deciding whether to maintain or weaken them. We need as many people as possible, from all 28 countries of the EU, to tell the Commission to defend the Nature Directives. That means your participation is really important. Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate Text and photo Victor Falzon Nature Alert Echosmith and Tori Kelly join Isle of MTV line-up The free music festival will take place at the Granaries in Floriana on July 7 MTV and the Malta Tourism Au- thority have announced that LA's alternative-pop offering Echosmith are the latest addition to this year's Isle of MTV Malta line-up, along with up-and-coming singer Tori Kelly. The band will be performing songs from their debut album 'Talking Dreams' the band comprised of sib- lings Jamie, Noah, Sydney and Gra- ham Sierota will take to the stage of Il-Fosos Square Floriana, on July 7. The renowned summer music fes- tival, now in its ninth consecutive year, will attract some 50,000 fans to the granaries, where DJ Martin Garrix, Jason Derulo, Jess Glynne, Echosmith and Tori Kelly will also be performing. Echosmith first burst onto the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in Septem- ber 2014 with their inspirational de- but track 'Cool Kids'. The song went on to become a top 20 hit around the world and was certified double platinum in the United States and Australia. It has amassed over 40 million hits on YouTube. Dubbed MTV US Artists To Watch and MTV PUSH artists for the month of November 2014, Echosmith have since contributed to superstar DJ Zedds's sophomore album and have embarked on their first international headline tour. "We are so excited to be playing the Isle of Malta. The lineup is amazing and there's so many people coming to the show. We're gonna give you our very best Malta! See you soon," Echosmith said. Tori Kelly has also been announced as the first act of the show, and she will be performing tracks from her debut album 'Unbreakable Smile'. Tori first made waves in the indus- try after uploading a cover of Frank Ocean's 'Thinking About You' to her then rapidly growing YouTube fol- lowers – the acoustic cover racked up 23 million views. Kelly decided it was time to give her growing fan base original mate- rial and promptly released her self- written, produced and mixed EP aptly named 'Hand Made Songs by Tori Kelly'. Rising to the Top 10 of the iTunes Pop Chart, Tori was an unsigned success. A few short years later and Tori is ready to release her debut album on Capitol Records. In addition to being dubbed MTV US Artist To Watch and MTV PUSH artist for the month of May 2015, everyone is talking about Tori's phenomenal performance at the Billboard Music Awards, with Ed Sheeran tweeting "Tori Kelly killed it tonight!" and John Legend saying Tori had "…the vocal performance of the night!" "I'm so excited to perform at this year's Isle of MTV Malta for the first time, see you there!" Kelly said. Isle of MTV has previously show- cased many big names from the in- ternational music scene including Lady Gaga, Flo Rida, Snoop Dogg, Black Eyed Peas, David Guetta, LM- FAO, Jessie J, will.i.am and Rita Ora amongst others. The show will be filmed and edited into a 60-minute special that will broadcast across 20 MTV channels throughout Europe. Echosmith Tori Kelly