Purposes of wasps

[bunn]

 It would be mean and silly to respond seriously to the question on my Facebook friends list about  'what's the purpose of wasps apart from pissing people off'.   But none the less, I am narked by it. 

1) Species (and groups of species) do not exist just in order to serve or please human beings. Human beings are not the only important thing in the world. Do you really think you, and your own (not undestructive, and often very unattractive) species are that special and important?  Get over yourself! 

2) Wasps are (mostly) predators, and predators exist in ecosystems to keep them in balance so they are not swamped by writhing hordes of prey.  A world without wasps would be a world with an inconveniently large number of aphids and caterpillars.

3) Wasps pollinate plants.  When did YOU last pollinate something?  Well, there you go. 

4) Wasps have bright, sharp colours, clean lines: they are fast, deadly, tough hunters that don't take kindly to being messed about with and can look after themselves.   They are not teetotal, and you'd better not annoy them.  Wasps are awesome.

Comments

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

I like wasps - except when they get to that drunken, antisocial stage in the autumn when they start behaving like drunken hoodlums and gatecrashing my parties. They share my taste in beer, which is unfortunate.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

They are a bit alarming then, though as long as they are not actually trying to drink *my* beer, I can enjoy the idea of other species having drunken parties.

Squirrels get drunk on fermenting apples sometimes too, always makes me laugh.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Just wish it wasn't my party they insist on getting drunk at...

I've seen a hedgehog high on marinaded tofu, but I've never seen a drunken squirrel.