It’s one of Mother Nature’s rules – everything in nature has a purpose. If it flies, crawls, slithers, hops, or swims, I usually can understand its place in Mother Nature’s plan for the world.
Just this morning Yours Truly surprised Little One and Sweet Caroline, our two granddaughters, with a giant green grasshopper for their breakfast. No, they didn’t eat it.
Over three inches long, it kept them company crawling around the table before eventually being taken outside after they finished. Finally freed by the girls, Hoppity the Giant Green Grasshopper flew away from the back porch up to the safety of a nearby oak tree — prompting a conversation about how everything in nature has a purpose and that they should never stomp, squish, or otherwise kill anything living. That’s another one of Mother Nature’s rules. Then again, there’s always an exception to every rule.
Yellow jackets. They are classified as Genera Dolichovespula – a family member of social wasps. Beneficial to gardeners, they eat flies, spiders, and caterpillars.
First, from my experience, there is absolutely nothing social about a yellow jacket. There’re anti-social because they don’t like being messed with and they don’t play nice with others.
Second, I don’t have a garden so they shouldn’t be in my backyard.
And third, I really like caterpillars. They turn into butterflies. Butterflies don’t sting. I don’t like yellow jackets. They do.
Bears, skunks, and raccoons eat yellow jackets. It’s one way Mother Nature keeps wasps in check. Last I looked, there’re no bears or skunks foraging for food in our backyard so they won’t starve if I get rid of them.
Our oasis is home for a cute family of raccoons, but they can stay. They’re happier eating the cat food we set out for our feral cats than eating those stinging pests.
So I’m gonna eradicate every single yellow jacket that stings me … along with all his/her brothers and sisters. And this includes destroying their homes by any means possible. There’s no need for them to be disturbing the tranquility of our backyard oasis.
Now, I’m not the aggressor. Not the one who started this war – they stung first. But unless I go into anaphylactic shock and die, I’ve promised the girls that their Big Papa will win. And our oasis will soon be wasp-free.
The yellow jackets have been given many a chance to play nice, but they simply refuse to do so. Last week I was walking in the backyard, minding my own business, when a yellow and black swarm of death suddenly enveloped me.
Yes, I had done the unforgivable — walking within 10 feet of their underground home. But that was no reason to attack. Screaming, swatting, and using very colorful language, I bolted back into the house. Not willing to give up the fight, one of them even followed me into the living room, stinging my elbow as I tried to swat it out of existence.
Nursing my multiple stings, I picked up the phone and called for additional troops to help with my war. Within an hour, a friendly neighborhood extermination company was fogging our backyard oasis and ridding it of all wasps.
Now don’t think my stance on those pests is outrageous. Trust me, I’m not alone in my loathing — especially this time of the year. Some folks around here simply despise those Yellow Jackets. Along with me, Elephants and Tigers from Alabama, and especially Bulldogs from Georgia don’t care much for them either.
[Rick Ryckeley has been writing stories since 2001. To read more of Rick’s stories, visit his blog: storiesbyrick.wordpress.com.]
