[b said:
Quote[/b] ]You can still see the venom glands on the end of the stinger pulsing for a few moments afterwards.
actually I think it's more like a bunch of minutes
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I have to first find the stinger before using tweezers. That has not happened yet.
lol, if you haven't found it by now you're never going to find it. It's really quite obvious. You probably just brushed it off, or misidentified it as a bee instead of a wasp?
I like both bees and wasps, and they are VERY important for the environment. Both pollinate everything ranging from orange trees to milkweed, wasps help control pests like some caterpillars (farmers release parasitic wasps around their crops... which I think is horrible since the wasps also kill other species of insects which are cool/beneficial), aphids, etc. and they're just plain cool. Look at this wasp I found -
http://groups.msn.com/_Secure....2985751
http://groups.msn.com/_Secure....9068018
If you're wondering what the cotton swab is for, I cought the wasp and wanted to take pics so to make it sit still I made sugarwater and dipped the cotton swab in it, then offered it to the wasp. It also works wonders with moths and butterflies.
Like I said, I like them... although I am a little unnerved if they come too close.
I also wouldn't consider yellow jackets aggressive. They're curious and bold, which freaks people out, and then they get stung because of swating them and stuff. I've taken pics of them, I had them land on me, a friend even cought one with his bare hands (it landed on his open hand and for some crazy unexplicable reason he closed it just to realize what it was and opened it again) and the yellow jacket just flew away (well, it did try to sting when the hand was closed, as my friend said he could feel the stinger, but when he opened his hand and shook it the wasp just flew away)... and the only time I've been stung by a yellow jacket was when I stepped on their nest... which more than justifies them stinging me. heck, and they only stung 5 times! I step on an underground nest and only 5 stings? I got off easy if you ask me.
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Ambush bus are really neat and easy to observe closely. Anyone else ever seen one? IV seem them eating wasps 5 times their size., mostly to iv seen them eating flies and bees.
I may have... a tiny one... but I didn't get to see it very well... I forgot why. I've always wanted to see them though.