by: Marcia Beckford
Fly with dangling legs, build a nest, buzz
Sting those big, like a human
bite those small, like insects and arachnids ‘cause
As predator, pollinator, omnivore
Wasps protect the garden as their chore
Be leery of the female for she’s got the stinger
The hornet’s a wasp looking to give you a zinger
Either a solitary wasp or a social wasp
A solitary may construct in a group
But work only on their own mama coop
Mud Dauber tube nests underground or
Regurgitated wood built somewhere near your door
Those social ones follow a hierarchy
Perhaps knowing their place is the key
Fertile queens, male drone workers
And sterile female nursery workers
All help to build space in their colony
The queen begins the nest with a new generation
In the springtime right after winter hibernation
You’ll see them in the soil, under trees, near your home
If they invade your space avoid pesticides
You’ll only hurt Earth and your own insides.
