Zoo #29 – Hornet

A sideways look at age, Colin McQueen - writer, Getting Older, Humour, My Life, Poetry, Real life through the kaleidoscope of age 1 Minute

Never wave an ice cream cornet
In the presence of a hornet,
If they want to taste the thing
They possess a fearsome sting.

And, unlike the Bumble Bee,
Are very much less mannerly:
Always happy to inject
Their poison where you least expect.

If you’re walking round the zoo
And you somehow find that you
Are trapped between the beast and sugar,
Swat the stripy little bugger.

So, science tells us that every creature has carved for itself an evolutionary niche: every creature has a role to play.  Tell me, please, what is the role of a hornet?  Other than being even more belligerent and bloody-minded than a wasp, what does it do?  It seems to have developed as a consequence of some entomological arms race: more likely to sting than a bee, more painful than a wasp, bigger than them both; it is the China of the insect world and every bit as unreliable.  If you avoid being attacked by it, it will probably find a toddler to attack instead.

PS I do sometimes have readers in China.  No more I guess…

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