The Great Bug Hunter

The Hunted

The Hunter

Corbin has taken up bug collecting. You should see all the bugs in his box! Every time I drop in for a visit he shows me some new specimen he's carefully pinned. It's cute to see his expression and hear him tell me about his wild hunts and how he caught what ever menacing creature he's pointing at. Just looking at all those creepy little crawly things gives me the willies. He's clearly all boy through and through, because he loves it and it doesn't bother him in the least bit!

Yesterday I was sitting at my computer in the cabin working on some pictures for people. I was politely minding my own business when suddenly a giant black thing flew at me and nearly hit me in the head. I think I screamed before I jumped for the fly swatter. After locating the mammoth winged insect crawling on my window, I gave him a good smack. Luckily I only stunned him because as he dropped near my feet I realized that the ugly black giant was a Great Black Wasp. Yes! Providence! Right there at my feet I realized I had nearly killed a Sphex pensylvaicus!

I quickly went into grandma-mode, ohhhh-ing and aw-ing. I was so proud of myself. I was about to capture an awesome great winged insect for Corbin's collection. What an addition this will make I thought as I ran for a small bottle to haul the creature home in. In all the excitement however I forgot a small detail, I forgot he wasn't quite dead yet.

It was about this time that Darth Vader decided to wake up from his stunned coma and fight for his life. He seriously looked like Darth Vader helmet and all. Even the raspy breathing thing could be heard as he started buzzing at me in a frenzy threatening to sting me at every turn.

That was when Deserey came into the room and started screaming. She was yelling at me, "Mom, he's not dead." He was dive bombing my head and I wondered for a split second what on earth would posses her to think I had no knowledge of this simple fact. Did she think I was swatting wildly at the air for no reason at all? I was totally annoyed at her implication of stupidity in me. "I know that Deserey," I yelled.

"Well, kill him mom," she bolted.

"I'm trying Deserey," I hollered! It was about then that I knocked him to the floor again. Deserey danced wildly as I kept trying to shove him into the bottle.  He was spinning and buzzing and threatening to get loose at every poke. Sadly, now the poor creature is lying dead on a cotton ball. What a way to go!

The Great Black Wasp is also known as the katydid killer. It digs a burrow and places one egg in it. Along with the egg, it places a katydid or grasshopper (some large insect) in the hole. This gives the new born insect something to feed on when it hatches. SICK!

I learned an interesting thing about wasps. Wasps fly with their feet trailing below them. Bees and Hornets fly with their feet tucked up against their bodies. Also no other wasps in Northern America are as large as the Great Black Wasp. Despite the name and the size, the Great Black Wasp has a docile disposition, they really don't like to bother with people. It's only when you knock them out of a cabin window and swing at them wildly with a fly swatter that they get aggressive.