Wasps - Blog Posts
NEBULA'S REASONS TO SHIFT ; #14
✧ ....avoid [some] bugs....
Hey, um, I know that wasps are generally known as the jerks of the insect world, but just so you guys know, they do give a little back.
For example.....
1) They eat bugs. Yay! Less leaf beetles eating your crop!
2) They pollinate figs. MmmMmmm. I like fig Newtons. I want them to continue long into the future.
3) They carry yeast in their bodies which helps allow the yeast to survive the winter. In case you didn't know, yeast ferments grapes and is used for baking. AKA next time you have some wine or enjoy some leaven bread, begrudgingly thank a wasp.
I'm not saying that you have to like them. Heck no. Wasps are scary; howeeeever, just like the wonderful bee, they help provide us with some amazing things.
(x)<--yeast link (x)<--bug link (x)<--Fig link
insects ive seen this week
1: long tailed giant ichneumonid wasp
2: imperial moth
3: polyphemus moth
Wasps are great! Some social wasps can not only recognize individuals of their own species, they can recognize humans as well and “befriend” people!
I’ve had positive experiences with the yellowjackets that live around campus at my school- my school is full of insect lovers who are pretty chill about them, and I think they recognize that at least some of the humans around them are friendly, as they’ll often land on me or share a bite of my lunch, but have never stung me or been aggressive, and I haven’t heard anyone talk about them stinging people.
There are also lots of cool wasps outside of yellowjackets and hornets, many of which cannot sting. Some of them are ridiculously tiny- the smallest insect in the world is a type of fairy wasp smaller than some single-called parameciums and amoebas. (Wikipedia article here if you’re interested.) Wasps are incredibly diverse and beautiful, and we needn’t fear and loathe them because a few of them might sting.
[Image description from alt text: A photo of a small brown wasp pollinating a dandelion. Only part of the dandelion flower is visible, because it dwarfs the wasp in size. The wasp has faint, light stripes on its abdomen, bent antennae, and purplish eyes.]
I saw this posted on reddit to a wholesome memes sub, and it was full of nothing but people being unnecessarily awful on a post trying to spread information about why these creatures are beautiful and worthy of living. (Interesting note: They don't need a reason to be allowed to live.) I got sick of trying to correct people on there who were more interested in hating wasps than hearing the truth.
Honestly, it's just exhausting sometimes.
Source: @shencomix - Thanks for helping to spread the word, buddy.
NO ANTI-WASP SENTIMENTS ON THIS POST
Cicada Hawk guarding an entombed cicada under the back porch steps. Anesthetized the cicada will be consumed From the Inside Out by the growing larvae of the Cicada Hawk. She swoops as we pass but never stings.
Saw this guy chilling out on a leaf
Edit: someone told me this is a hoverfly
Okay, so this is really cool! You have this phenomenon where some plants grow edible appendages to their seeds to entice ants to carry them underground where they can safely sprout. And then you have wasps which lay their eggs on the leaves, stems, and other parts of plants and trigger the growth of galls (swellings) which both feed and protect the wasp larvae until they reach maturity.
The boy who was watching the ants noticed they were taking wasp galls underground, too. Further exploration found that the wasp larvae were unharmed inside the galls; the only thing the ants had eaten were edible appendages similar to those on the seeds they collected. The wasp larvae stayed safe inside the ant nest, feeding on their galls, until it was time to emerge and head back out to the surface.
So it turns out that the edible portions of the galls have the same sorts of fatty acids as the edible parts of the seeds. And those fatty acids are also found in dead insects. Scientists think that the wasps evolved a way to make the galls they created mimic the edible portions of the seeds to get the ants to collect the galls. This isn't the only example of wasps making use of ants as caretakers for their young, but it's a really fascinating example thereof--especially if you consider ants evolved from wasps at least 100 million years ago.
I had to kill a wasp nest at work so I brought them home.
Some thoughts on jane prentiss I had this morning that I just connected the dots with
1. Her "worms" aren't worms, they're wasp larvae
2. Some varieties of wasp feed spiders to their young
3. Jonathan Sims was first marked by the Web
I know it was likely Jonah's meddling that put her on Jon's trail, but I like to believe the drive to get to him was more from her nature as a mother trying to feed her young
My family is deathly allergic to wasps. Like, I see the point you're trying to make, but if my 7-year-old cousin gets stung by a wasp, her airways will get blocked and she could suffocate to death. Same with my aunts, other cousins, my brother, and my mom. It's cool that your garden is a fairy tale and you feed birds out of your hand but that's not the reality for some people.
zoologist: This species plays a vital role in its ecosystem and it won’t hurt you unless you provoke it.
some of you lot: Yeah, but I don’t personally like them so they should all die, sorry.
During the storm, I've had a wasp sheltering on my window.
It's been two days now, and she's still there, so I gave her some honey
Lookit her! slurping away!
@onenicebugperday
Wasps are the sports cars of the insect kingdom until someone proves me wrong.
when people say "ok but x bug has no benefit to nature" I bet they can't even name 5 facts about the bug they're shitting on. so how could they Possibly know what its function is in the environment and if it's "useless" or not
wasps being the perfect example, I still get people saying "oh bees are cute and pollinate :) yay. but WASPS ARE EVIL and they don't contribute ANYTHING!!!" and it's like buddy. wasps pollinate too. they also control spider populations. they do a lot of great valuable things. but even if they didn't, they're still worthy of being here. I see SO much hatred toward wasps and I wish people would try to learn a little more about them.
I'm mainly talking about paper wasps here because these are common ones we run into in daily life and most commonly deemed "aggressive". but wasps have body language. and if you learn to read this language and learn how to properly act around them, things will go a lot better for you! wasps can be curious creatures and they may come up to observe you, especially if you're wearing something brightly colored. this can be startling for sure, but my best advice is to just be still, DO NOT SWAT or wave your arms. try to just back away or sidestep so it loses interest and leaves. swatting is just gonna make them feel as if they are being attacked and increase your chances of being stung.
many stings happen due to unfortunate but accidental circumstances. unknowingly getting too close to a nest, stepping on a wasp on accident, one getting stuck in clothing, etc. I got stung once while gardening, went to pull a weed and the wasp was on it, so I grabbed her without knowing and she stung me because she was scared. this doesn't mean "oh wasps are AGGRESSIVE and EVIL" it means you stumbled into an unfortunate situation where the wasps felt threatened and defensive. instead of being like "FUCK all wasps" go forward trying to learn about common nesting areas, be wary of holes in the ground, wear gloves while gardening, and if you do have to be around a nest, try not to make a lot of noise. if the nest absolutely needs removed, call a professional.
I LOVE WASPS THEYRE SO NICE. Bees take getting anywhere near them as an excuse to commit acts of terrorism, but wasps? They fly right up to ur shoe! They say hi! They go about their day, as long as u go about urs! If you piss off a wasp, maybe that's ur fault for not respecting nature enough. Maybe you should apologize. Say sorry. Say it. Right now. >:T
![A meme about wasps that was poorly edited to be wasp positive.
In the top right corner there is a picture of a black, yellow, and orange cicada killer wasp with text next to it that says this one is a cicada killer who are very unlikely to sting humans
From the top left there is text going down the image that says:
Do you see this?
Do you know what this is?
this is a wasp.
It's mission in nature is to live.
It pollinates things.
Some make honey
It is in the order hymenoptera along with bees and ants.
It is a [large blank space] wasp [smile emoticon]
you cannot battle the wasp. most wasps are solitary.
Paper wasps are eusocial meaning they work together to defend the nest and are calm unless they or the nest are threatened.
When you see a wasp, do you know what you do?
You chill out
you move slowly
you hope the wasp has a nice day
And wait for the wasp to finish its business and move on](https://64.media.tumblr.com/c4911814b23937c56331e62ff0e4c65e/75f669d2e8edab4d-ac/s500x750/b29b30b6774d2256d16b74b02e8473bb071230ce.jpg)
Fixed a wasp meme :)
We need to better educate kids on the importance of animals that are typically hated because otherwise you end up with adults who think hating wasps is a personality.
It's me showing you bugs time
Squirmy wormies
Creature things
I've decided to do "wasp exposure therapy." I'm very scared of wasps, but I know they're important, so I started leaving out a bowl of water and pebbles for them last year. This year, I've decided to sit with them. They like my shoes
When Given Colored Construction Paper, Wasps Build Rainbow Colored Nests
You’re placed in a room with an animal. The door is closed and you cannot leave. The animal is completely calm and has no intent of harming you. You are in no danger unless you provoke the animal in some way.