This is a continuation of our anecdote “Living on Big Red.”
8. Two In a Row
Things got back to normal for a little while, the nest expanded, the colony grew in number, and finally Donna gave birth to her daughter, the next queen. Her she named: Elizabeth, in honor of her own grandmother. Meanwhile her first larva had pupated, its cell finally sealed, and emerged just two days ago as an awkward new adult ready to pitch in with the caring of his brothers. The other early ones were getting ready to emerge as well. Soon the family would be quite large. Donna was getting fatter and really relied on her colony now, and with pleasure they attended to her needs. They offered her comfort and afforded her protection. All was going well, until one day they had a double run of some bad luck.
Andy and Alfred showed up again, no longer unaware, and this time they were armed with an armload of rocks. From about fifty feet out they started heaving them at the fender. Donna’s fender. Now if you can, try to imagine sticking your head in a church bell at the same time it is chiming. Those rock’s hitting Big Red’s fender was incredibly loud. The whole colony was up in arms and started flying around. Most left the din opting for quieter open air. They wanted to make it stop but were unable to positively connect the two boys standing a distance away to the noise. They thought about it, but couldn’t prove it. Two wasps did fly over to the boys to investigate. That’s all it took. The two boys saw the wasps coming and ran like the wind back to the farm.
The second part of their double whammy happened that night — and it was even worse. It started to rain. Now the wasps had been through rainstorms before and it was no big deal. They’d all stay inside together, starting at the walls. But this rainstorm was cut from another template altogether. The lighting came, and that was fine, as was the thunder. The wasps were used to it. But then it began to hail. It was like the boys throwing rocks, but 100 times worse, and because of the rain the wasps were trapped in the fender. A couple were killed as they were knocked down from the fender to the muddy ground below. Their cries could be heard slightly, then there was nothing but the sound of the storm.
The wasps survived the storm pretty much intact. Ground beetles carted away those who didn’t make it. The nerves of the rest were a bit frayed but as they new day wore on they got back into their groove. It had rained so hard water splashed up from the ground wetting the paper, but it’s tough and held firm and was almost dry again. The day was warm and sunny and things were looking up.
9. The End of Days
The warmth didn’t last, though. The boys never came back, Big Red stayed silent, the season’s remaining storms were less theatrical, the nest was never invaded by rivals or predators, and the poisons sprayed on a neighboring farm never drifted their way. All in all it was a good season — a good life for most of the colony — and it was a success for the colony as a whole. But the warmth didn’t last. Neither luck, nor good planning, nor wishful thinking would save them from the end of days. Nothing slips past destiny. Nature has the final say. And to Donna, Billy, daughter Elizabeth, and the rest of the colony, Nature said their time was up.
The first priority was no longer feeding the brood and making the nest. The kids had all grown and the nest was now nothing but fancy paper architecture. The wasps moved slowly now that the days were shorter and the temperature was cooler. Before long they’d be too cold to move, let alone trying to fly. The colony’s final act, so to speak, their last priority, if you will, was to get Elizabeth to move out. One by one the colony said farewell to Elizabeth. Some offered words of wisdom. Donna spent a day with her passing on all that she knew but hadn’t yet shared. Donna encouraged her, yet still conveyed the importance of her safety, and her responsibility as next year’s Queen. The future of their species rested squarely on poor Liz’s narrow shoulders.
Both wasps wept as they tangled their antennae as a from of embrace. Liz told her mother that she’d miss her. Donna couldn’t speak, choked up, wondering how the time went by so quickly. Had she done a good job of raising her daughter, she wondered to herself. She even wondered if she had been a good Queen. Donna was confused, scared, and worried.
All was made better, though. Before taking off to look for an overwintering spot, Elizabeth turned to have a last look at her home, the colony, Billy, and her mom. It was a bittersweet moment to be sure. Liz beat her wings and started to rise upward. As she did so, she turned and looked once again at Donna, smiled, then reassured her mother: “Don’t worry, mom. I’ll step up.” This made Donna smile. She was reassured by the sentiment.
The cold came. Minus a few unseasonable days, fall was in the air. The colony sat, lethargic. Unable to fly, unable to protest, resigned to their fate. One by one they began to fall to the ground, unable to maintain their precarious purchase. Billy, positioned next to Donna, stayed until the bitter end. Even though he wasn’t a talker he was fond of his Queen. Donna smiled weakly and closed her eyes. Billy stayed for a while, shivering and crying. He hoped Donna would open her sad compound eyes once again, but it wasn’t to be. Billy was alone. He wanted to say something, just one more thing, but now he couldn’t. Donna was dead. The future was now in the hands of her daughter. Billy’s mind tried to see ahead into the future but couldn’t. Slowly he closed his eyes, too. Later that night he, too, succumbing to the will of nature, fell to the ground. For this colony, the story has ended.
Footnotes
About Paper Wasps: The brown paper wasps in this story were the brown and yellow Polistes exclamans. This anecdote could have easily starred Polistes carolina, their reddish-borwn cousins. These semi-social wasps do sting but are much less aggressive than yellow jackets, Vespula squamosa, for example. As described in this story, paper wasps can be dealt with without too much difficulty if caught early. The wasps will rebuild in prime locations, but will only make two to three attempts before moving on. To learn a bit more about them and how to control them, please check out this site entry. If you can live with them we recommend you do. Stinging aside, and even though we list them as a pest, they really are beneficial.
About This Story: This story, or anecdote, is one of many written over the years. These anecdotes are meant to be humorous or touching, and entertaining, and a bit anthropomorphous, yet still provide factual, useful information. Edutainment, if you will. If you liked this one and want more, please visit our Bug Blog’s Anecdotes Category. Enjoy!
