an uninvited guest

 

Towards the end of April we had a late night caller. A large buzzing flying thing disturbed Mary watching telly. Was it a moth, a beetle, a bee or wasp? A wasp says M, and big; already I am thinking what a hassle. It was eventually located on the electrical cable to the ceiling light. Ahh yes, quite large and sleepy. It can wait till morning when it will probably go to the window. And largely that came to pass. Next morning I collected it from the window in a recepticle I hastily took from the glass cupboard. A wine glass with plastic lid.  

It was a decent specimen so I thought it might pay for the overnight accommodation with a quick macro session. It was quite slowish moving but the jar was not quality glass and difficult to photograph through. I got a quality tumbler and replaced the cheap one. I left the lid as the wasp was taking interest in dried residue in the rim. It was enough distraction that I decided to remove the second glass and risk the subject flying off. It was only a wasp after all. What could go wrong?

let me out of this prison!

It was a good call. It was much easier to get decent photos. And it wasn't looking much like flying off. Of course it needs some breakfast! I went and hurriedly stirred some honey into a little cup of hot water, then put a few drops near the wasp. It was very enthusiastic and drank all the fluids I put down. I was taking photos as it did so and you could almost detect the creature grow in strength. Okay, perhaps time to wave goodbye before this gets out of hand. A window was opened and Mrs Wasp reluctantly went on her way. I say reluctantly - she seemed to want to stay in the pub that served fine drinks rather than fly off into a cool morning and buzzed the window for a couple of circuits. 

While she was drinking I made a short video. It was done at speed and I only had a head torch near for lighting. As a result the background has some strobing/banding going on. And it is handheld which makes it pretty rubbish - but I was aware that I had a large live wasp that was likely to become much more lively any second. I was more pleased about the way the photos came out. Was it the Venture Photo franchise that used to photograph families and kids with all white backgrounds? Seems a long time ago now. Anyway I'd like to think this photoshoot - done on a sheet of A4 with a wine glass lid and macro lens (with flash and diffuser) has something of a Venture feel about it! It shows the dots on the front of the face that determine it is a German wasp (Vespula germanica) and not the other likely type, a common wasp, which has an anchor-like mark. Other identifiers are on the chart below. It was likely a queen wasp looking for a place to make a nest, as they do in April. It was an honour to have such a regal guest stay with us and I'm glad to relate she behaved perfectly and was a great model.