Jul 17th, 2016

Author: donich_admin

Flying Insects

I went for a walk up to the waterfall last night. Most of the midgies seem to have disappeared – not sure whether they have just gone early this year or if they will be back if the weather improves at all.

Anyway, at the stile near the Cowal Way sign there must be an ants’ nest, and normally of course they just go about their business peacefully and unobtrusively (unless you sit on them of course). But yesterday was the big day of the year when they had their wings and were out ready to mate.

I’m afraid I killed some of them by walking on them (inadvertently) and swatting them when they flew on me (not quite so inadvertently) – but I tried not to. It seems so sad to kill something when it was just out trying its wings on the one summer’s evening it was ever going to have.

Further on the insects front, R was punished for ‘disprespecting’ wasps yesterday. He had literally just commented that we hadn’t seen any wasps this year, when the most enormous insect I have ever seen outside a zoo landed on his shoulder. It was like an enormous wasp and I think it may have been a hornet. He managed to shake it off without damage (to him or the creature) but he seemed to lose his enthusiasm for going for a walk at this point. I think it was the goddess of wasps warning him that their time for this year has not yet arrived but is on its way shortly.