Watching!

On the Bayou, the heat of summer can dictate just how much work is accomplished during the day. Sometimes it is better to just sit and watch Mother Nature than to toil in the sun. Personally, I am all for watching..sitting and watching..whatever happens in front of me as long as it occurs in the shade. Or at least, where I can be in the shade! I often watch the insects in the garden. Many of these are beneficial and with indiscriminate spraying of pesticides, the good are killed with the "bad". Mother Nature has it all down to a science..there is a balance in the system that keeps the garden pests in check if these "good" insects are allowed to live. I do not believe in using any chemicals in my garden whatsoever and so far Mother Nature has done quite well in providing all the help I need to keep the fruits and vegetables pest free. One of the helpful critters is a type of ground wasp..the Sphex Ichneumoneus. Now, I know that is definitely a mouthful of letters that would be impossible to pronounce. It's all Greek to me..well..actually ichneumoneous is a Greek word meaning "tracker". This is the Great Golden Digger Wasp. The female digs an almost vertical hole into the ground and then digs "cells" that radiate out from the central hole. She will place a paralyzed bug such as a cricket in each cell and deposit one egg on the bug. This will ensure that the larvae will have plenty to eat once they hatch. Since the bug is not dead just paralyzed, the larva's dinner stays fresh. Now just think about it..as she is hunting provisions for her young, she is also depleting the garden area of pests! This works out well for me for two reasons..I do not have to dump chemicals on my foodstuffs in the garden ... and.. I have something interesting to watch during the heat of the day! These wasps also take nectar at flowers in the garden areas. This is another added plus since their movements will pollinate the plants.

The little ground wasp worked for several hours digging her tunnel in the sand..I watched. No..I did not sit in the chair all day watching a wasp but I did take quite a few breaks just to check her progress. I was always careful not to step on her tunnel and always careful not to disturb her work. Late in the evening, she was gone. I am assuming that she had finished her task. I hope she was able to fill each cell with a little one and next year perhaps I will have more little garden helpers. This might allow me not to work so much..I would definitely have to watch the wasps dig!