Frazz by Jef Mallett for May 20, 2015

Me either!

Frazz runs in, to explain many fascinating insect facts, then starts running ten more miles

I dreamed about a hornet last night. Weird.

They’re not honest. They don’t even have horns.

Bumblebees won’t sting you.

Carpenter bees are often mistaken for bumble bees. Carpenter bees are reluctant to sting, but can turn vicious when motivated. I once got two stings on the back of each hand, which actually caused deep bruising (or some kind of tissue breakdown) down in the muscles.

I had a summer job as a cart tender at a golf course one year. It convinced me that bumble bees are idiots. They will fly at terrific speeds across the open spaces, riding the wind, with no regard whatsoever as to where they are going. Getting hit by one can hurt a bit, and it can’t possibly do the bee any good, either.

and nobody but Charlotte fans care… sorry

Hudson liked them.

When my daughter was one, we had to watch closely because she would grab bumblebees and put them in her mouth. I assure you, bumblebees will sting if sufficiently provoked.

Of course you can simply leave bees, hornets & other hymenopterans alone. Then they probably won’t sting you.

the best thing about bald-faced hornets is that they eat yellow jackets…

One time when I was 12, I was climbing out of a pool when a hornet that had fallen in grabbed onto my shoulder. I realized this just as I made it out of the pool, and sat perfectly still, terrified, as the critter slowly climbed up the side of my head, sat on the top for a moment, before flying away. I didn’t get stung, but for years I couldn’t look at a hornet without cringing, as I remembered the feeling of it’s tiny claws digging in to the side of my head as it climbed up, and the resulting terror.

Bumblebee’s can’t fly (at least according to aeronautical engineers) so this whole conversation is moot.

I saw a blue jay one day, goofing around under the eaves of the neighbor’s house. As I watched, I realized it was catching hornets and killing them with its beak. When all the nearby hornets were killed, it detached the little paper nest and made it into a Happy Meal to go. Blue jays like hornets.