Some Quality Time at the Wasp Tree

To the Cowling Arboretum. After admiring the Cobra Clubtail tree, where a dozen or so male dragonflies perched on sunlit maple leaves on branches overhanging the river, I walked the trails through floodplain forest to open prairie and back.

On the way back, I remembered to look at the wasp tree where I'd observed a parasitic wood wasp on May 28th. Noticing several of these same wasps, I waded through the raspberry brambles and took a seat on one of the fallen logs at the base of the wasp tree. The wiry spine-waisted ants went about their labors. A large metallic wood-boring beetle uncamouflaged itself, then ambled off toward the dark side of the tree. The wood wasps, black with ivory markings on their legs, landed on the bare wood of the dead tree and raced about like large, hyperactive ants, stopping and starting, changing directions often. They came and went, one after another, and often several at the same time. I settled in for some quality time at the wasp tree.

After a little while of watching the wasps at eye-level, I noticed closer to the base of the tree near my feet a larger wood wasp with a bright red abdomen---a second species!

While the wood wasps were the anchor for this meditative pause in the middle of my daily hike, the sails of the senses were filled by all the other activity here. Instead of proceeding through the world, I sat and witnessed the procession.

Posted on June 9, 2017 03:54 AM by scottking