Great Golden Digger Wasp

I think my 2nd favorite part of homeschooling all these years has been our nature studies (read alouds are #1). You never know when fascinating nature will be delivered to your home or yard. You've got to be flexible and relaxed enough to drop everything to enjoy the observation process, live in the moment, take time to smell the roses, or in our case this week...take time to watch the Great Golden Digger Wasp work her little persistent heart out. She's beautiful and she is AMAZING!!
Cumulatively I think we've all spent hours this week watching her. She chose to build her nursery a few feet from the porch so we could sit in the shade and admire her work ethic. She. Never. Stops. I wish I had that much energy as a mother. Nothing much seems to bother her. She's very content focusing only on her work. She noticed me once and turned to look at me (gave me the evil eye, she did) but went right back to work.
She goes down in her hole forward, but exits backing up with a perfect dirt ball with her. She piles them up neatly behind her landing strip. :) We saw her take down 3 green grasshoppers which she will lay her egg in.
Be kind to beneficial insects. These wasps are non aggressive and will keep your grasshopper population down, plus they pollinate. Let the good guys live. :)
I tried to get some good pictures for you. I did the best I could. To obtain perfect pictures would have involved lying in the dirt and I wasn't in the mood.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Charlotte Mason says: All this is stale knowledge to older people, but one of the secrets of the educator is to present nothing as stale knowledge, but to put himself in the position of the child, and wonder and admire with him; for every common miracle which the child sees with his own eyes makes of him for the moment another Newton.
(Vol 1, II, Out-Of-Door Life For The Children, p.54 )
Children should be encouraged to watch, patiently and quietly, until they learn something of the habits and history of bee, ant, wasp, spider, hairy caterpillar, dragon-fly, and whatever of larger growth comes in their way.
(Vol 1, II, Out-Of-Door Life For The Children, p.57

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Golden Digger Wasp info
Wish this was better focused, but I can't believe I caught this shot. I was so excited to witness this. (poor grasshoppa)

  See her backing up? We would make "Beep Beep Beep" backing up sounds to cheer her along. Had to be there I guess. LOL It was funny when it happened. :)
Here she comes with a handful of dirt rolled up in a tidy little ball




Psalm 50:10-11: “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hill, and all that moves in the field is mine.” Blessings to you!

Group Hugs!!

Hooches and Smugs