#waspcourse

[saturniidays]

Hope you all realize that you can have been stung by wasps, be allergic to wasps, be afraid of wasps, and generally not want them around you and still understand that they are vital parts of the ecosystem and are not evil. They are literally just animals with a defense mechanism that has served them well evolutionarily.

[floridensis]

a wasp appreciation post

it looks like lots of people are submitting their wasp pics to @onenicebugperday​ and i decided i wanted to just make a massive wasp photo dump!

i am a recovered wasp-phobe. i used to run in the opposite direction if i saw a wasp. now i go towards them (i do not recommend that. but ive got observations to make). every one of these photos is a testament to how theyve grown on me. shoutout to the nice paper wasps that didnt care about me and just wanted to do their business and ignored me as i attempted to face my fears and photograph them. the pics were garbage but i got better.

so, first, have some of the most majestic wasps ive ever seen:

this incredible creature was probably the biggest wasp ive ever seen. i ran around following it FOREVER to capture a photo, but it was really good at getting away from me. [inat link]

this beautiful thing was probably the second biggest wasp ive ever seen. i detected it because i heard the sound of its massive buzzing wings! it didnt seem to want to go far, i could have sat watching it forever. [inat link]

the rest is going to be under a cut so not to pollute your dashes :)

so lets look at some other funky wasps

heres some beautiful wasps, incredibly tiny with incredibly thick thighs. i think the top one is a male and the bottom one is a female, by looking at the shape of the butt. these little guys dont sting, and the top one let me hold it briefly (it was cold...) [inat link] [inat link]

but im going to be honest, as much as i love those little things, i think that its kinda cheating to showcase non-stinging wasps when defending them against people who hate wasps for stinging. so.....

STING!!!!! look, its just what nature is. theyre not mean, theyre just doing what they gotta do. funny enough, between the two wasps here, im pretty sure most people would be more scared of the victim than the aggressor if they were to see them individually. [inat link] [inat link]

i observe so many wasps in the patch where i witnessed this attack, and honestly i have to say, normally they mind their own business. in fact, this patch is what got me over my own fear of wasps! 

like, look at this cutie in the patch, just sleeping there :) [inat link]

theres so many different kinds of wasps there, and in surprising places, too!

heres some parasitic wasps that i hatched when trying to hatch stink bugs. gotta say, even if they werent what i was looking for, it was fascinating all the same. people often hear “parasitic wasp” and go GHGHHGGGUGH HELL NO!!!!!! and im not sure what theyre thinking. parasitic wasps cannot sting, and they hatch out of the eggs or bodies of other bugs and stuff. they dont hurt people at all. (those beautiful thick thighed orange ones earlier on are also parasitic) [inat link]

i want to show off two other wasps but i dont really know a smooth transition for it. so heres a yellowjacket nest.

it was really fascinating. they had built this nest in the exposed dirt of an uprooted tree! we sat and watched the traffic for a while. i dont really see yellowjackets where i live, so it was cool seeing them up in gainseville, especially because of how cool their nest was. [inat link]

none of them wanted to sting me. there were so many awesome wasps in gainesville and only one wanted to sting me.

isnt it just beautiful?? it didnt sting me, but i could tell i was agitating it the more i tried to get pictures. so i left. simple. but i was willing to take a bit of risk because it was one of the most beautiful paper wasps ive ever seen. but if i didnt leave it that would be my fault.

i could go on. i have a lot more i want to show off, but i dont want to type anymore or look up any more of my inat observations.

know what, im just dumping some pretty ones without context

so.... thats wasps for you. i love them. if you wanna reblog and maybe show off some wasps too, youre welcome to.

[bug-maniac]

Someone in the bug Discord: wasps just want to eat man

My brain, immediately:

[the-scungles-of-crungles]

I am no longer participating in the WaspCourse

Wasp is wasp

And wasp is evil

Thems tha facts

Anyways good morning

Can yall find a better hobby than simping for terrorist insects

I like bugs, but why would you pick that-

[saturniidays]

profession: wasp apologist 

[saturniidays]

lmaooooo the literal entomology department of my school shared one of those “bees are angels and wasps are the spawns of satan” memes on facebook like you’d think we could expect more empathy from people who have devoted their lives to studying insects but  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[saturniidays]

Ok the "sounds like something a murder hornet would say" joke was freaking hilarious... I really don't think people following your blog would be dismissing scientific consensus... Seemed like a harmless joke.

they were not one of my followers and tbh I dont really care. you can call those stupid wasp vs bee memes where the wasps commit war crimes and the bees bake you cookies harmless jokes too but I assure you they aren't and I cant stand them. if that's your sense of humor though go off my dude 

[saturniidays]

Me: Wasps are not evil for developing a highly effective survival strategy.

People in my notes: So that means you want me to touch a wasp OP? You want me to ignore my life threatening allergies?? You want me to keep dangerous animals around my house that could threaten my family and pets??? You want me to stick my face in a wasp nest??? You want me to cover myself in wasps???????

Me; sobbing: Is your name Jared, 19

[saturniidays]

idk if this makes sense but wasps are to bees what cats are to dogs (hated by people that dont know and arent willing to put in the effort of finding out how to interact with them so ppl think theyre 'mean')

i think you are completely right. like. I've always been more of a dog person. I like cats but I don't really understand cat body language very well. cats always kind of run away from me lmao. my inability to interact with them in their language doesn’t mean they hate me. 

likewise, wasps don't sting without reason. stinging is pretty risky for them since they have to get close to their targets anyway. your inability to understand what set them off doesn’t mean they stung without a reason.

[saturniidays]

I have begun treating wasps more nicely after following your blog, i am still as terrified of them as i am of needles but its a work in progress. Over the last few days they end up more and more flying into my room and then being unable to get out. I even completely open the door for them but they still keep trying to fly out through the glass panels, its a bit hard being scared of something that acts so adorably stupid.

That’s great! Like I always say, you can be afraid of an animal but still respect it. hopefully you can figure a way to get them out safely for both them and you. 

[saturniidays]

white girls be like "i hate wasps"

and the worst part is that it really doesn't have to be that way

[saturniidays]

imagine being a middle aged man replying to someones post abt smth theyre passionate abt just to insult their interest. pathetic and uncalled for.... i have a fear of being stung so i often avoid wasps as much as possible but i still love and appreciate wasps as important parts of our ecosystems. its not that hard to respect nature while also not being extremely comfortable w every aspect of it

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[saturniidays]

i love wasps so much and i love your post about why wasps aren’t the murderous death machines that people make them out to be, so here’s some older photos i took of some cute hungry wasps getting some delicious sugar from my fingers!!

they’re honestly such sweet insects if you just treat them with respect

[saturniidays]

Hot take

you can be scared of wasps but you can also research and learn about their behaviors and roles in the environment and not jump to the immediate conclusion that they exist to bring you pain. If you can read this, you have the resources to do so right now. If you let go of your anthropocentrism, nature will not make you such a miserable person. It is us with nature, not us against nature.

[saturniidays]

WASPS. ARE. VALID.

You can be afraid of them but they are not “evil.” The concept of evil is a human idea that wasps have no comprehension of. Saying they are “evil” is heavy anthropomorphicism and is a very human centric view on life

[saturniidays]

I am scared of wasps; I also love and appreciate them and have educated myself on their roles in the environment. If I can do both, you can do both.