Not So Killer Wasp

While the news is buzzing about the killer hornets in China, I thought I'd share my not-so-deadly wasp that I took pictures of three weeks or so ago. We have mud wasps that have decided to build a home right outside our door. This is the second nest they've tried to build there in the years we've lived in the house. We'll have to call someone to come and take care of it. I'd think about doing it myself, but...well...I'm not insane. Bees I like, wasps I do not.

So we often have wasps flying around the front of the house and one afternoon I found a very cooperative subject sitting on the window. It was one of our 100 plus days last month and I think it was trying to suck the cold air-conditioning through the window. I snapped pictures, I changed settings on the camera, and I took even more pictures. The one below is my favorite. I think the lighting works. I just love how much of this odd strangely beautiful creature you can see. And I love the big eyes. Of course I'd still kill one if it came indoors.

Busy As a Bee

I've just finished reading The Hive by Bee Wilson and am suddenly fascinated by bees. I picked the book up on a whim and found it amazing. The book focuses on the history of how humans have interacted with bees. How we've used the hive as inspiration in work and politics. How honey and ideas of love have been intertwined throughout history. And of course how honey has changed the world. Halfway through the book I had to go down to the kitchen to grab a teaspoon of honey. And I've been doing that daily since I finished the book.

Bees have been compared to everything from monarchies, republics, anarchies, and nurseries. If that seems contradictory, it is. I just saw an ad on TV for Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey Whiskey which uses a rebellious male bee as its mascot. For centuries humans thought that the bees were ruled by a king who sent his soldiers out to do battle and gather provisions. Aristotle once said that bees had to be ruled by a male because no one would ever give weapons to females. Of course now we know that the hive is ruled by one true female. Workers are undeveloped females and drones (the males) are really only there to eat honey for a short bit of time, mate, and then die in the process. Like the Praying Mantis, the male bee doesn't survive his encounter. After mating season ends the surviving drones will be starved.

Bees are one of the only untamed creatures that provide food for humans. And bees have never been tamed. They can and do swarm at any time, fleeing from a hive where things aren't right to find a colony which is better. The flowers surrounding a hive will flavor the honey. Tastes can run anywhere from divine lavender honey to the rather gritty and foul rapeseed honey. An apiary out on New York just discovered that its honey was turning red. The bees were visiting the maraschino cherry factory next door for the sugary red syrup. I can only imagine what that honey tastes like. Now I'm fascinated by the idea of tasting as many types of honey as I can. Mostly I've only had clover honey. Now I'm ready for something more exotic.

The thing that really shocked me though while reading this book was the number of mistaken assumptions about bees. Up until the 1700s it was believed that bees sprang from a dead oxen prepared in a special way. Bees, who hate the smell of decay, were supposed to spontaneously generate from oxen. This wasn't just a superstition. It was practiced. It was also believed that bees (being chaste of all sex) could tell someone who wasn't. It was common practice for intended brides to be sent through an apiary. If she emerged unscathed, she was a virgin. If she was stung, well...the wedding was off. During the times of the crusades it was believed that bees would fight in wars for the good of heart. I can't think of another creature that is so iconic, and so misunderstood. Beehives are the icons of industry even today. I'm just starting to notice how often bees pop up in advertising or in products for sale.

This was a fascinating book and I'm suddenly really excited about the idea of trying more honey. I'm also growing more and more excited about the idea of someday keeping bees myself. I've been reading accounts of beekeepers, looking at video of apiaries, and of course trying honey. I know it won't happen for a long long time. But suddenly I'm excited about the idea of bees. And learning more about these amazing creatures.

Bug Art

I had mentioned before how my mother collects interesting insects. It's a hobby that can lead to some beautiful wall decorations along with some creepy ones. The bird eating spider is a bit much. The walking stick insect is beautiful. I had mentioned before about Michelle Stitzlein's found art insects thinking that those would be right up her alley. But today while looking at Drawn.ca, I found another amazing example of insect art that I might have to look into getting for her.

Mike Libby takes the actual specimens of insects and inserts mechanical parts to create his art. His beetles have propellers and gears. His grasshoppers receive springs. And everything is unbelievably beautiful. Libby describes it as the ultimate mix of science fiction and science. He says that so many science fiction pieces depict insects as robotic and that now scientist are studying insect behavior to learn more about mechanical movement. This is a beautiful blend of nature and machinery. I was enchanted by his work. So many beautiful insects. I have included one picture as a tease but you really need to head over to his site, Insect Lab Studios to see the rest. Gorgeous. And perhaps I have a new idea of a present for mom.

Tetramorium Caespitum

My original plan was to talk about going out for drinks with the girls last night and then an incredibly fun game of Hide and Seek our guild played. Perhaps a later post, at least for the Hide and Seek. I had even written part of it in my head this morning. But of course life is what happens while you're making other plans.

Spring has sprung here in Iowa. I can tell in two ways. First happened last week or so. The red-wing blackbirds came back to the state. Robins winter here now so they are not a good indicator of spring.

The other happened this morning....Ants. Pavement Ants to be precise. Each year in the spring and once in the fall we deal with three or four days of ant infestation. The whole complex suffers the same fate. So I woke up this morning to find that there were ants wandering through my kitchen and enjoying the cat's food. Now I'm normally a live and let live person. I have a pact with the resident spiders. They stay on the ceiling and I don't let the cat eat them. Once they come down to my level, they're fair game. But the ants drive me crazy. I know they don't really hurt anything and they just come for the cat food. But...well I'm not letting them live. I've been known to stand in the kitchen with a paper towel just waiting for them to appear so I can smoosh them. I become a serial killer of ants.

So I spent this morning vacuuming and scrubbing. I cleaned up the major infestation and now will have to deal with the stragglers. I know that I should have a professional company come in but I've seen their prices. Plus I don't like the idea of hazardous chemicals being sprayed in my kitchen. Call me old fashion that way. Most websites say that they they are tough to prevent even with the professional spraying. Ants are just fast adaptors. I laid down some cinnamon at the spot they were getting in and I'll pick up some baited traps on the way home. We've gotten good at treating them.

I consider it just one of the hazards of living so close to a creek. I love having that creek access and the open natural areas. I love that the hummingbirds come in the summer and the deer wander into the complex year round. I love that I can step out onto my patio and watch a raccoon wander by. I guess I'll just have to live with the ants. They are only occasional visitors.

Specimens

My mother collects insects. I'm not sure where she picked up the hobby, but we have always had some sort of specimen lying around the house. We kids have started bringing home interesting ones that we find, like a beautiful intact praying mantis. She had bought a number of different ones including some incredibly creepy ones. The first time you see a hairy Goliath Bird-Eating Spider, you realize why so many people are afraid of arachnids.
But she doesn't just collect the creepy ones. She has some beautiful butterflies that she has collected throughout the years. Moths and butterflies of every shape and color imaginable. They always remind me of the sheer beauty of nature. Many of them are framed and hung on the walls. Nature as art. So when I found this artist on Roadside Scholar, I thought of my mother.

I'll have to check prices and see about purchasing one of these incredible and incredibly large butterflies for her. The artist is Michelle Stitzlein and she creates her beautiful bugs using objects that she finds. Those wings are mostly made with piano keys. (that should give you some idea of the scale of these pieces)

I love found art (art made from found materials) and these just speak to me. I'll have to look into them for my mother. Just gorgeous. Michelle has a number of other found art sculptures on her website. The teapot is a little more up my alley.