Evening star., 1949-08-04
This and That
By Charles E. TraceweU

Mr.. S. os. of New York city. poet, likes
wasps.
He thinks they are much abused in popular
imagery.
"Only today" he writes, "your dissertation
on the wasp has come to my attention.
IT have never patiently studied the con-
struction activities Of wasps, but when you
say that these were ugly, morose types. am
moved to record my doubt.
"Over many years have found wasps to
be, uniformly, ladies and gentlemen.
I'm a country cabin which we enjoyed
for several years, there was at times con-
siderable concentration of wasps.
'The creatures frequently, in trying to find
their way to the free outdoors, crawled be-
tween the overall screens and the window
frames, and were often unable to back out,
and so after spending their little strength
in futile struggles. perished.
"I rescued scores of them from this fate
by Turing them onto my hand and carrying
them, with the hand closed over them. into
the open.
"Sometimes when one of them was so
frightened as to elude all efforts to entice it
onto my hand, picked it up bodily. was
never stung.
"May I ask you to reconsider the state
ment that there is good choice in our use Of
the word 'waspish' to denote fierce and
unreasonable attack?
From my experience I judge 1t to be q
particularly unhappy bit Of folklore.
"And may I suggest that timorous' and
blundering humans who in summer briefly
invade the countryside where the wasps-
among other creatures clearly have prior
rights, should forget their silly fear of these
industrious and inoffensive creatures, and
try to be as considerate, as live-and-let-ive,
as the wasps?"
Shaemas O'S. being Irish, surely had his
tongue in his cheek when he wrote that last
sentence.
If he could see these fellows of ours. he
would hesitate before raising the window.
He must have gotten hold Of wasps with
out stings, sure enough, since not all OF
them possess stingers, by any means.
Or he handled them when they were still
kthargic from the winters rest.
Wasps, like humans, need bit OF wind
ing up.
The advancing season does that for them.
Once they get the cell blocks going, and
the next generation coming along nicely,
they become veritable demons.
No longer are they ladies and gentlemen,
as the poet insists they are.
When we look at those black and orange
demons in our windowsill, we have to laugh
at the very idea.
Ladies' perhaps 7but gentlemen, never!
An unhappy bit of folklore, is it. that
wasps do sting, and hornets the same?
What do you think Of this idea, that
wasps are ladies and gentlemen?" we asked
Templeton Jones, nature lover.
Jones was all sprawled out in his big lawn
chair, something cool in tall glass on the
arm thereof, and his dachshund at his feet,
and his big tiger cat on his lap.
IF your poet friend had been with me
last summer" Jones grinned, Il believe he
would have had to change his overall
opinion. Or at least, his trousers and
quickly.
This hornet few up my trouser leg. He
was no gentleman. I assure you.
sHe stung me four times, but after the
third stinge1oo stepped out of those pants
right here in the middle Of the yard. The
action did not save me from the fourth
sting, however.
"The industrious creature bit me a fifth
and last time before he flew away. Maybe
we have hotter wasps here than they do up
in New York State. Or maybe wasps do not
sting poets What do you think?"
We weren't thinking. We were just
dreaming, dreaming of the day a good poet
picks up q good Maryland bumblebee, or a
nice neat hornet, or even plain old garden
variety Of honey bee. Heb, heh, hehl