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guitarist63
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Posted: Wed May 16th, 2007 09:37 pm |
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During my years in Kenya from the age of eight to thirteen, I remember many exciting, colourful or curious insects. One of them was the Mud Dauber wasp which is a solitary wasp. The females used to make small pottery containers, beautifully shaped like a miniature earthenware jar with a tiny circular opening and a carefully shaped rim - just like a skilled potter. In fact, a similar species is called the Potter wasp. These mud nests - which is what they were - appeared on the external stone window sills of the bungalow where we lived. The wasp could be seen around the garden, flying with its long yellowish-orange and black banded legs, like long football socks, gracefully trailing, caught by the wind. When this wasp had found its prey, which was caterpillars or tiny spiders, it would partially anaesthetize them with a sting and take them back to the pottery nest. The anaesthetic in the sting also acts as a preservative so the larder is kept fresh to feed the wasp young.
Last edited on Sun Mar 23rd, 2008 04:19 pm by guitarist63
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geeky_student
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Posted: Thu May 17th, 2007 05:52 am |
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wow... you are like one of those British people who's been all over the colony places eh? hehe, just wondering.
a good experience i am sure. you interact with so many different cultural groups, very good for spreading the Gospel.
God bless! Count your every blessings, name them one by one
i will continue praying for you guys
keep clean
____________________
For God, for her, for my parents, for own good.
tip: when tempted, think of God, think of that special someone you love. 
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guitarist63
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Posted: Thu May 17th, 2007 07:37 pm |
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Thanks, Geeky. In spite of the bad experiences in Kenya, I did enjoy myself a lot. The garden was huge (to me) and virtually my own paradise. My family did not spend anything like the same amount of time in the garden. They weren't interested in bugs, snakes, lizards, birds and other creatures. I was also solitary and so didn't have friends round except rare occasions. They didn't share my passion for nature. The garden was teaming with wildlife.
Last edited on Sun Mar 23rd, 2008 04:21 pm by guitarist63
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Mark37
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Posted: Sun May 20th, 2007 06:46 pm |
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We mainly have these. I too was somewhat of a loner and literally devoured books about animals. I used to watch bugs for hours as a kid. I usually leave these bugs alone as they are good at eliminating catipillars and grasshoppers. I become distressed when people kill them just to kill them.
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guitarist63
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Posted: Sun May 20th, 2007 08:34 pm |
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Thanks very much, Mark for link to photo of Vesper vulgaris the common wasp. I never thought vespers were vulgar! Stephen Dalton, the photographer naturalist has written a superb book called, Borne On The Wind, The Extraordinary World of Insects in Flight. Published by Chatto and Windus, London in 1975. Your common wasp is illustrated in flight - in plate 61 and 62. As you correctly point out, they are very useful at cleaning up the pests and they also have an essential role in the decomposition of organic matter. The Mud Dauber wasp is also illustrated in Stephen Dalton's book in plates 53, 54 and 55 - again in flight. Dalton pioneered this type of photography. I think his book should be on every nature lover's shelf, especially those with a specialist interest in entomology or the study of insects. Very pleased to meet another nature lover who focused on nature since his early years.
Last edited on Sun Mar 23rd, 2008 04:23 pm by guitarist63
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