[AG-EQ] Insects: bees and wasps
Jewel
jewelblanch at kinect.co.nz
Sun Apr 19 02:41:05 UTC 2020
I don't know if I have told you that, potentially, aggressive insects and I appear to have an
amicable association, and being without that knowledge, I will relate the following.
I have been stung only twice by bees and on both occasions, the stinging was, in the bee's eyes
anyway, richly deserved.
The first was when I stepped on one and the other was when I was washing my hands and, unbeknown to
me, a bee was taking a zizz in the handbasin and took some exception to having a stream of water
descend upon its innocent head, and now for the occasions when they: wasps/bees could have stung
me, but didn't!
#1: This was when I was a boarder at the Foundation.
One of the house mistresses, Miss Whitehall, for some reason, arranged for me to spend the term
holidays with friends of hers, Doug and Elsie Wood who were dairy farmers in South Aucklan: kouku
or a name similar to that.
One day, Mrs Wood had given us all, her family and me, some jam sandwiches which attracted the
wasps. One flew, not "over the cuckoo's nest" but up inside my felt jacket, and I am sure must
have been rather disconvovulated when everything, suddenly, went dark. I am sure that its confusion
would have caused it to retaliate by stinging something, but the something that it stung was not me.
I assume that it was the jacket.
#2: We, the Blanch family, were holidaying in Picton and, one day, Dad hired a rowing boat from the
motelier and we went for a picnic around the point to another bay. When it was lunchtime , Mum gave
us all some chocolate and, before you could count to 100, we were, well, not * we, but the rest of
the gang, were surrounded by wasps, the little darlings having picked up the smell of chocolate
which, at that time of the year, was an attractant: and had come down from the bush in a cloud:
note: wasps are seasonal in what scents attract them and this was their sweet period, chocolate/jam
etc while later in the year it will be protein: meat etc etc.
Anyway, even though I had chocolate too, not a wasp came near me!!!
#3: When I was a student at Epsom Girls' Grammar School, one lunchtime, I was eating yet another
jam sandwich and a wasp came along and touched down beside my finger, but with one * gentle puff
from me, it took off, making no protest about the fierce gale that had hit it and robbed it of its
meal.
#4: When I came to live in Gore, for some weeks, every morning when I went out to the barn to milk
my goats, I was welcomed by a bee that from its deep hum I assumed was a bumble.
After some weeks: remember that the life of a bee is short, it welcomed me, as usual, and then, as
I was seated on the edge of the stancheon milking the goat, along it came and passed right over my
hand, and I swear that I felt its wings touch it: it was as though it was a ceremonial flypast and
this was its farewill salute as I never saw it again.
#5: One night, my fan heater in the utility room caught on fire and, after leaping out of bed, and
seizing the blazing heater: how I didn't get incinnerated by the melting plastic, fortunate
happenstance and Fred only know, I got it into the kitchen sink and drowned the flames.
I than went back to the scene of the blaze and felt around on the carpet to ascertain that I hadn't
missed anything, when I picked up something that felt like a tiny little coil or something that
seemed to be vibrating in my hand.
Having not the slightest clue as to what it could be, I dropped it into the sink too.
Next morning, I put my hand back into the sink and the vibrating coil which turned out to be a
bumble bee bit me. It did not sting, but appeared to bite me with jaws or a sort of beak: and to
bite me it still had to be alive, but badly burned.
I felt that if I called for veterinary assistance, veterinary assistance would not be forthcoming,
so I put it outside, so if it were to die, which seemed inevitable, it would do so in its own
environment.
#6: Lastly, I took the large flower of a Jerusalem artichoke into my hand, and, once again, felt
the familiar vibration of a buzzing bee. NO STING: NO BITE this time!!!
Jewel ! ;
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