#wasps are cool

[jenfoundabug]

Four-banded stink bug wasp (Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus), a type of sand wasp, in central Pennsylvania. Sand wasps are called that because they like to lay their eggs in burrows they dig in sand. The female of this species hunts for hemiptera (true bug) nymphs, mainly stink bugs, which she stings and paralyzes. She carries the still living nymphs back to the nest where she lays her eggs. After it is well-stocked with victims, she seals it off. Her larvae will eat the paralyzed nymphs when they hatch. The adults eat nectar and are pollinators. They can also help with invasive species control, assuming it's a species their larvae would find appetizing.

Here’s another one I found nearby digging a nest:

[iceycreme]

wasps make me so sad. no one believes they're capable of anything more than aggression, to be the worst of the worst of all bugs. no one believes in them.

[aidentitycrysis]

Just because wasps won't explain themselves to you or produce anything that benefits your life does not make them useless. Stop being such a capitalist.

[70sscifiart]

Giant bees and wasps in retro sci-fi art

[cuttledreams-bugs]

#Invertefest is still going and I've been very happy to be able to finish most of these guys in time!

Mole Cricket, Gant Ichneumon Wasp, Wheelbug and Pink Dragon Millipede!

[the-leafcutter-ant-queen]

This sounds adorable. Yes yes yes yes yes

Imagine if bugs were the size of cats

I think that would be pretty neat. I lean there will probably be less bugs and it might be harder to find them since they would be too big to fit in all the tiny spaces bugs usually are in but like think about it.

Imagine petting a bumble bee the size if a cat, that would be so fluffy

or having a pet spider the size of a cat and it just chills around and does it's funny little spider things

Imagine feeding a bunch of cat sized ants, that would be so cute

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Moths in Disguise: these are all just harmless moths that have developed the ability to mimic wasps, bees, and/or hornets

Top Row (left to right): Eusphecia pimplaeformis and Myrmecopsis polistes; Bottom Row: Pennisetia marginatum

Moths are exceptionally skilled when it comes to mimicry, and there are hundreds of moth species that rely on that tactic as a way to protect themselves from predators. Their disguises are numerous and varied, but hymenopteran mimicry is particularly common, especially among the moths that belong to subfamily Sesiidae and family Arctiinae.

Yellowjacket-Mimicking Moths: Pseudosphex sp. (top and bottom left) and Myrmecopsis polistes (bottom right)

Some of their disguises involve more than just a physical resemblance -- there are some moths that also engage in behavioral and/or acoustic mimicry, meaning that they can imitate the specific sounds and behaviors of their hymenopteran models. In some cases, these moths are so convincing that they can even fool the actual wasps/bees that they are mimicking.

Such a detailed and intricate disguise is unusual even among mimics, and researchers believe that it developed partly as a way to trick the wasps into treating the mimic like one of their own. Wasps tend to prey upon moths (and many other insects), but they are innately non-aggressive toward their own nest-mates, which are identified by sight -- so if the moth can convincingly impersonate its model, then it can avoid being eaten by predatory wasps.

Wasp-Mimicking Moths: Pseudosphex ichneumonea (top), Myrmecopsis sp. (bottom left), and Pseudosphex sp. (bottom right)

There are many moths that can also mimic hornets, bumblebees, and carpenter bees.

Hornet-Mimicking Moths: Eusphecia pimplaeformis (top left), Sesia apiformis (bottom left), Paranthrene simulans (top right), Pennisetia marginatum (middle right), and Sphecodoptera scribai (bottom left)

Bumblebee-Mimicking Moths: Hemaris tityus (top and bottom left) and Hemaris affinis (bottom right)

Moths are some of the most talented mimics in the natural world, as illustrated by their mastery of hymenopteran mimicry. But it's not just bees, hornets, and wasps -- there are many other forms of mimicry that can be found among moths, and the resemblance is often staggering.

Moths deserve far more credit than they receive, to be honest, because they are so incredibly interesting/diverse.

Sources & More Info:

Journal of Ecology and Evolution: A Hypothesis to Explain the Accuracy of Wasp Resemblances

Frontiers in Zoology: Southeast Asian clearwing moths buzz like their model bees

Royal Society Publishing: Moving like a model: mimicry of hymenopteran flight trajectories by clearwing moths of Southeast Asian rainforests

[vertigoartgore]

Comic Art Process (from the original pencils to the published page) : 1986's Avengers Vol.1 #271 pages 1-3. Breakdowns by John Buscema and finished art by Tom Palmer. Words by Roger Stern, lettering by Jim Novak, colors by Christie Scheele and edited by Mark Gruenwald.

[roobiedo]

Made this for the Solarpunk Aesthetic Week server in a sudden creative fever, so I guess I'll post it here too hh

A relative of mine knows someone who teaches kids, so I'm gonna suggest this as an art project for them! The idea is that students could each make/decorate their own shelf, then put them together to form a hive, which could function as mini lockers in their classrooms. Then, by the end of the school year or something, they could either take their own little shelf home (or exchange them with their peers?), or recycle them into materials for the next class! Hopefully it'll teach them about pollinators too 🐝

Idk how doable this project is really, and its scary to imagine one of my silly designs could actually become something tangible irl. But even so, I'm still excited to try 🥰 (And if anyone else attempts this too, please let me know!!!)

[orofeaiel]

Dogwood Lake Collection Tin: snail shell, feather, deer fur, leaf with black tar spot, crab, Douglas fir with pollen cones, piece of wasp nest, cool rocks.

[confidenttreehopper]

Happy October my fellow creepy crawly enthusiasts!! Have a list of some Halloween themed bugs 🐛

Billy Witch (Melolontha melolontha)

Great Golden Digger Wasp (Sphex ichneumoneus)

Purple-Gold Jumping Spider (Irura bidenticulata)

Bloody-Nosed Beetle (Timarcha tenebricosa)

Milkweed Tussock Moth (Euchaetes egle)

Ghost Ant (Tapinoma melanocephalum)

Philippine Batwing (Atrophaneura semperi)

Red Pumpkin Bug (Coridius janus)

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and of course

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The Death’s Head Hawk-moth (Acherontia atropos)

[grigadf]

Not sure if that's a male or a female, but here's an adorable wasp.

[gncbozo]

Literally my first impression of the wasp king

[bonefall]

Thoughts on Wasp? I like the idea of cats joining that turn out that the Clans aren’t great… but also it feels… weird? Like it seems like another “lazy cat bad” on some levels. I don’t mind him not joining the Clans but these “outsider learns they’re not fit for the Clans” things always give me a pause from the Erins. Also interested in how you would handle him!

Moonkitti's video on him is really well worded, if you haven't seen it yet. I do think he's different from the way that other books tend to portray outsiders in that they are saying that he was driven away by the xenophobia of the Clans... but.

They still make him extremely disinterested in Clan life while he's in ThunderClan. I think that was a massive blunder to write, if the thing they're trying to say is "XENOPHOBIA PREVENTS OTHERWISE ENTHUSIASTIC MIGRATION"

It would have hit harder if it was Wafflepaw who tried to run to RiverClan, got assaulted, and then didn't want to be a Clan cat anymore.

Wafflepaw WANTS to be a warrior. Wasp did not. It reads more like Wasp getting hate crime'd was a "last straw" more than THE reason why he won't stay.

That's where you're getting that vibe they're saying "lazy cat bad," imo. It's a bit different from usual, but it still seems like the narrative is saying that Wasp really didn't belong here anyway.

(no, Nightheart's moment where he looks at the camera and says "he could have been fine!" doesn't change that they showed, in their text, with the actions they wrote, that Wasp was not enjoying being part of the Clans anyway. If that was their intended thesis, their writing was sloppy.)

It feels especially weird that Bee didn't go with Frostpaw. Bee was the character with a lot more setup and that strange dream. A lot of people were confusing Bee and Wasp when the book first came out and I don't blame them.

Most importantly, you can't talk about Wasp without also mentioning one of THE worst lines I think has ever been written into a Warrior Cats book. The part where tigerHeartstar says, "Those cats who just committed a hate crime were perfectly good people before the evil dictator took over. If we kill the evil dictator, I'm sure they'll CHANGE BACK"

I'm still REELING. Fuck you MEAAAN "CHANGE BACK????" CHANGE BACK? LIKE BEING A BIGOT IS UNCOMFORTABLE SHOES???

CHANGE BACK... me bringing my evil dollars up to the villain store and exchanging it for racism coins... change back...

So when I get around to it, I'm going to evaluate if Wasp is even actually necessary in the form he's in. BB is already about xenophobia and bigotry and the harm it does. Frostpaw has no shortage of examples to witness what Thistle Law is, and what it does to those excluded from Clan Culture.

When I first made my Family Tree for RiverClan, I actually ended up making Splashstar's MOM, Havenpelt, an ex-rogue. I think seeing him order a hate crime against his own mother would be a LOT more impactful here, actually.

What Frostpaw DOES need is allies and friends. I'm already starting by expanding her little "DND Party," a word I'm using to affectionately refer to some cats who will be following her home from her pilgrimage to the Park. 99% chance that Nightheart is going to become a permanent member of this party, joining RiverClan at the end of ASC. Waffle will be another. She'll probably also pick up a Tribe cat.

Wasp will be on this party, but I won't decide what happens to them until I see what that last book has in store. Who knows, he might come back (though I hope not, run as far away from these ghouls as possible Wasp!!)

[tj-crochets]

So it turns out there's a big craft guild organization thing only a few hours from where I live (I saw an ad for their craft fair), and I got like half my holiday shopping done on their website, and the box arrived today! The thing I was most excited to see in person is fragile, though, and it's really well wrapped in bubble wrap and I don't want it to break when I mail it to the friend it's for, so I am not unwrapping it, but oh man the temptation is there lol I also got myself a little metal bug made of a bottle cap and some wire. It lives on my little corkboard where I put postcards and thank you cards now

[axollungz]

dang girl u crazy (affectionate)