Yellow For Sinners

Boris Dmitrievich Grigoriev (1886 - 1939) 

I have a friend wasp named Queeny. She built her nest on a really inconvenient area where I often dump my birds’ uneaten seed or shake towels out. She would come out angrily and buzz at us, ready to defend her home from the strange giants.

Queeny didn’t know that it was our porch she built her home on, she saw a nice ledge and decided that it was a suitable spot to begin her life as a lone female.

So instead of removing the nest and poisoning her with bug spray, you know what I did? I moved the area where I dump my things and started feeding her. I would tap three times on the railing before leaving a treat like fruit, honey, dog food, or pesky beetles I find in my garden, then move away to give them lots of space. At first she would buzz out, wings spread and ready to fight, but after doing this for just a few days…she stopped!

Now when she comes out, it’s slowly and non-threatingly. She tilts her head at me before gingerly inspecting the offerings. She doesn’t threaten my mom any more either, she’s learned that we mean no harm. We’ve started using that ledge to shake sheets out and dump bird seed and she doesn’t mind at all! She just watches quietly.

She even has a family now! Five daughters and one lad- a husband or son, not sure which lmao -who greet us the same, she must’ve taught them that we’re not enemies (or they just grew up used to us). They even protect my garden, since Queeny’s family has grown the invasive Japanese beetle population has plummeted! They really are delightful neighbors.

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