In the Eye of the Beholder

"I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else." — Pablo Picasso

I love that quote from Picasso — because I can relate to it. So many times I have set out to photograph something in particular only to get sidetracked or distracted by something else entirely. That was the case yesterday afternoon.

I went outside to take pictures of a Gulf Fritillary Butterfly that was enjoying my gold Lantana blooms, and when the butterfly flew away for a few minutes, I noticed another not-so-pretty and a-lot-less-desirable insect on the flowers.

Yes, that's a wasp ... and as far as I could determine by googling wasp pictures, it is a Paper Wasp.

Now, I have never gotten close enough to a wasp to get a closeup look at it, but this one didn't seem to feel threatened by me, and, more importantly, went about its business without threatening ME. So, as it moved from flower to flower, I watched it through my macro lens (from a safe distance), and discovered that it was actually quite interesting. The saying that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," came to mind as I could see beauty in the wasp, too. It was interesting to see how it stretched its legs as it moved among the leaves and flowers, and how it would turn completely upside down as it explored the depths of the blooms.

For those of you who are less squeamish when it comes to wasps, you can click on the pictures to enlarge them and see God's glory revealed in this tiny, but amazing insect.

Now I know where the term "wasp-like waist" originated.

Of course, wasp stings can be very dangerous, even fatal in some cases, but capturing this one with my camera, on such an "up close and personal" level, inspired me to try to find out a little about what they do, besides sting people.

I'd like to say I discovered that they have a "good side" to them, but the only positive thing I could find is that they are beneficial to farmers because they eat caterpillars, which can damage crops. They also eat other insects like spiders, so if you don't like spiders, I guess that would be a good thing ... although, I really don't want to think about that, do you?

And to close on a brighter, happier note, I did manage to get a few pictures of the elusive Fritillary ...

If you have Lantana growing in your yard, you probably have Gulf Fritillaries, too. Here in Mississippi, they stay until sometime in October. Unfortunately, so do the wasps.