I've only been stung once in my life by a wasp but it made enough of an impression to create a hatred of the little beasts. That and they are just creepy and evil looking anyway. But I am still the resident defender against bugs here at our house and have killed many a wasp.Just as a side note here, I have learned that a solution of soapy water sprayed on a wasp or bee will kill it almost instantly without any nasty, toxic chemicals. Something to do with the little creep not being able to breathe through the soapy water since they breathe through pores. I believe that is right.
Anyway, we've had this little wasp's nest sitting on a shelf for months. I don't even remember where it came from but it was knocked down from somewhere and put aside as something to dissect and see what's inside. We are always on the lookout for examples of what they learn in good old science. Well, it has sat and sat and been forgotten for literally months. Finally, my wife was studying natural science with my 8 year old son. When I got home from Lowes after a trip to get some drywall supplies and some mulch for new landscaping stuff, she told me now would be a great time to cut that thing open and see what's inside. She and I had debated a little over if we waited long enough if wasps might hatch out of it. I said "no" and she was thinking it was possible.
None ever did, but upon cutting into it, there were five baby wasps in it that never hatched out. They were very dead and dry but intact. They were fully formed and not in the larval stage but looked like they were ready to hatch. There was also one "tube" of the nest that had no wasp (I am guessing the larva never made it or something like that) but there was a dried up and dead baby caterpillar, which is what the paper wasp puts in for the larva to feed on.
We got the magnifying glass out and took close looks at the eyes and stingers and compared them to pictures in the books. I saw my son applying what he just learned to what he was seeing. It was fun for him to see it up close and it was fun for me to see him having fun with it. I wish we would've had a microscope to really look close. We used to have a little, cheesy one but it has gone the way of broken and forsaken toys.
Anyway, we enjoyed the adventure of it together. Something so simple and I was thinking that the kids will probably remember that little chunk of time for the rest of their lives. They might tell their kids about the time they cut open a wasp's nest with dad to see what was inside and saw dead, baby wasps in there. That's how easy it is to create good times and memories with them, I guess. Sometimes I forget that.
 The Nest |
 Opening the nest |
 Caterpillar |
 Wasp |
 Emerging wasp (nice photo from external unknown source) |
