Bigsteppykitty - Lynx ‼️

ok

Achemom sphinx moth, Eumorpha achemom, Sphingidae

Found throughout North America.

Photo 1 by brendanboyd, 2 by sandy317, 3 by dwelch477, 4-5 by joannerusso, 6 by wordswild, and 7-9 by kneubaue

ngl i see wasps as friend shaped. little guys. i see one and go “ooh! a wasp! hii!!” and then i dont bother them and it leaves me alone while my friends are all freaking out 💀

Do you have any tips/fun facts that could help me be less wary around wasps? They come around our yard a lot, and I'm always so afraid to cross their path or get in their way at all for fear of being stung 😓

But so many people love them, so surely they're not that mean? If my overcautious respect is warranted that would also be good to know.

I'd say being overcautious is not warranted in most cases.

Firstly, though, it depends on the type of wasps you're seeing. Not all wasps sting. Most wasps are solitary and will almost never sting unless trapped against your skin. Some entire species and all males aren't even capable of stinging. And of the ones who do sting (mostly social wasps like yellowjackets, hornets, and paper wasps), some are more aggressive than others, but as a general rule, they're only aggressive when they're defending themselves or their nest.

So how concerned you should be is situational. If you're just in your backyard and there isn't a nest there, it's very unlikely they'll do anything if you just ignore them. Most likely they're looking for nectar to feed on themselves or food to bring back to their nest for their larvae, and they have no reason to attack you.

I would say find out which species you'd find in your area. Learn how to identify them and which ones can and can't sting or are the most likely to sting.

If you don't know where to start going about this, feel free to IM me with your location, and I'll point you in the right direction.

In my experience, fear is fueled by the unknown, and learning about something you're afraid of almost always makes it much less scary.

Also - most wasp stings don't hurt that much! Assuming you're not very allergic, it does hurt, but not horrifically, and the pain doesn't last particularly long.

A great campaign from the Xerces Society to remind us not to clean up our yards too much in the fall!

Our little invertebrate friends need winter homes :)

Make your yard a haven for local wildlife!

More information about how leaf litter benefits wildlife here.

Make a donation to the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation here. They do great work, and I’ve been a monthly donor for a long while now.

Donate $57 and get this Leave the Leaves yard sign here!

Don’t feel obligated to donate, but spreading the word on tumblr or other social media using these graphics is super helpful!