Re: CULT: new topic: bees

>I saw bees in my strawberry patch but they must be a mutation.  Instead of
>yellow and black, these babies were black with white markings.  Not just
>once but several different times over the summer.

I have both the smaller yellow and black yellow jackets and the large 
black and white wasps.  Both can get dangerously aggressive during a 
certain period of their nesting cycle.

Many years ago, I had a lab with a bit too much wanderlust for her own 
good tied up under a tree in the front yard as I worked in the barn 
nearby.  It was mid-summer, and she had been tied up in the same spot on 
many occasions during the preceding month.  As I was cleaning the barn on 
that particular afternoon, I heard snapping and yelping coming from her 
direction. I rushed out of the barn to see her leaping around, snapping 
at the air, yelping in pain.  I didn't have a clue what was happening 
until I got close enough to get stung and realized she was being attacked 
by a swarm of wasps. I raced into the house, grabbed my winter parka, 
hat, and gloves and a can of Raid, and ran back out to rescue her.  By 
the time I got her off the chain and back into the house, we were both 
frantic but not substantially damaged.  After dark, I went out to 
investigate the tree by flashlight and found a large wasp nest hanging 
from a branch that must have been there all summer.  For some reason, the 
wasps took exception to Pearl's presence on that particular day.  I have 
since noticed that the wasps that frequent the hummingbird feeders become 
significantly more aggressive during certain periods of the summer.  Darn 
nasty little buggers!

Laurie


-----------------
laurief@paulbunyan.net
http://www.geocities.com/lfandjg/
http://www.angelfire.com/mn3/shadowood/irisintro.html
USDA zone 3b, AHS zone 4 - northern MN
acidic clay soil

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