this post was submitted on 14 Aug 2024
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solarpunk memes

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[–] UndercoverUlrikHD@programming.dev 131 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (2 children)
[–] Alice@beehaw.org 12 points 4 weeks ago (3 children)

Everyone thank OP for pollinating!

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[–] Gsus4@mander.xyz 11 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Shilling for big waspa. I shoulda known.

[–] datelmd5sum@lemmy.world 73 points 4 weeks ago (10 children)

Bees are like carpenters, they carry a knife but you're not worried they might stab you for no reason.

Wasps are like meth heads.

[–] Asafum@feddit.nl 28 points 4 weeks ago

They're like meth head gang members that also call their gang to attack you after they do. That's what terrifies me of them.

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[–] numberfour002@lemmy.world 60 points 4 weeks ago (7 children)

Shitty wasps like Yellow Jackets give almost all the other wasps a bad reputation. Yellow Jackets are mean and spiteful, even when they aren't protecting their nest.

Most other eusocial wasps are pretty docile, unless you mess with their nest or really go out of your way to harass them.

In many parts of the world, like my own, there are far more species of solitary wasps than eusocial wasps. Solitary wasps are nearly all non-aggressive, they don't have communal nests to defend, and they basically don't have time to fuck around with stinging shit because they are too busy building a chamber for their eggs, collecting food for their upcoming progeny, and trying to stay fed and hydrated while doing it.

So what I'm getting at is that most wasps I encounter on a regular basis are pretty chill. Really, this goes for bees as well. Most of the ones I see on a regular basis are solitary types and non-aggressive. The most aggressive bees I tend to encounter are male carpenter bees. They are highly territorial and they'll even buzz a human to scare them off. However, there's no threat. Male bees and wasps cannot sting, they do not even have stingers.

[–] MelodiousFunk@slrpnk.net 24 points 4 weeks ago (2 children)

The most aggressive bees I tend to encounter are male carpenter bees. They are highly territorial and they'll even buzz a human to scare them off. However, there's no threat.

No threat of stinging, anyway. They will absolutely wreak havoc on a wood framed house.

bzzzzbzzzBZZZZZ

Yes, sir, I see you. I see your little pile of sawdust on the fence, too. No, I'm not going to screw with it. I'm just installing this gate latch."

bzzzbzbbzbbzbzbzbzbzzzzz

This would go a lot faster if I didn't have to keep ducking.

BZZZZZZ

Okay, I'm done, jeez.

BZZZZZzzzbzzzz^bzzzz^

...aaaaand under the fascia board it goes. Shit.

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[–] Pandantic@midwest.social 6 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

We have paper wasps around here. They bump you before they sting you. Like “hey bump we got a nest here bump stay away bump” I’ve only been stung when I was shaking something out next to a nest and they saw it as aggressive + too close.

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[–] verstra@programming.dev 40 points 4 weeks ago (6 children)

Bees, wasps, ok, got it.

But mosquitoes? I'be yet to find a biologist that would advocate for preservation of mosquitos. Kill them with fire.

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 10 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

That thing we do where we dump genetically modified mosquitoes into an area to make sterile mosquitoes and kill them off is awesome because the gene dies out after a few years. It'd essentially a temporary and mild extinction we can do. It's amazing because we don't even need to decide if it's correct to kill off a species.

[–] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 6 points 4 weeks ago

It’s also worth noting that this technique has been used primarily in urban areas with introduced species of mosquitoes. It would have different effects if done in wild ecosystems on native species.

[–] prettybunnys@sh.itjust.works 7 points 4 weeks ago (7 children)

Mosquitos are one of the most prolific pollinators, I think you’d find most biologists would tell you this.

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[–] SSJMarx@lemm.ee 29 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] todd_bonzalez@lemm.ee 22 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (14 children)

They have actually exhaustively studied this, and they offer zero benefit, they aren't even a good food source for any known animal.

The risks associated with mosquito eradication are extremely low.

That's like the only bug that's like that. The rest are crazy important to their ecosystems.

[–] Rooskie91@discuss.online 15 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

This is just plain false. Them and their eggs are an important food source for all kinds of aquatic animals and birds. Also, their larva remove contamins for water.

Even logically this doesn't make sense. What's more likely: every insect is extremely important except one, or humans are wrong (as we so often are) about one species of insect?

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[–] Gloomy@mander.xyz 8 points 4 weeks ago

Sounds like massive human bias at play. Any source?

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[–] morrowind@lemmy.ml 28 points 4 weeks ago (6 children)

Ok, fine, educate me, what do wasps contribute to the environment?

[–] Windex007@lemmy.world 55 points 4 weeks ago (6 children)

People who post shit like this are being intentionally obtuse and provocative. "Wasp" is a big tent classification, and what everyone else thinks of are a few specific creatures.

A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant;

Vast majority of things that are "wasps" don't bite/sting and many are important pollinators.

The bitey stingy ones? Fuck em.

[–] JovialMicrobial@lemm.ee 14 points 4 weeks ago (2 children)

As someone who has a live and let live attitude towards most insects....when I got swarmed by ground wasps while weeding out my garden I had no mercy for them after. Aggressive doesn't even describe how pissed they get.

It was the first time I didn't feel bad about using insecticide. So yeah, the hyper aggressive, stinging ones can fuck right off.

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[–] Gsus4@mander.xyz 26 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (3 children)

They eat the things that eat the things you eat.

(e.g. aphids, caterpillars and mfcking thrips and leaf miners)

PS: ok just one more: if bees are the plant matchmakers, wasps are broad spectrum pest exterminators.

[–] ElJefe@lemm.ee 16 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Yeah… well the also eat my peaches and plums. So they eat my food, and that just ain’t cool. On top of that they set up shop by my front door and then sting me for just walking into MY house where I was letting them make a little room of their own. Not no more. Them bitchass mfers are back in hell where they belong, and my world is much better since I opened that portal for them.

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[–] rockSlayer@lemmy.world 16 points 4 weeks ago

Many wasp species, while not considered pollinators, still transport pollen and pollinate plants. Others hunt pest insects. There are also many species that are vital as prey for birds

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[–] SkyezOpen@lemmy.world 22 points 4 weeks ago

More wasp propaganda. Nature does not owe me safety. My house siding is NOT NATURE. I WILL REVEL IN THEIR DEATH THROES.

[–] Reddfugee42@lemmy.world 22 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Of course nature doesn't owe us safety. That's why it's up to us to ensure our own safety by killing it with fire.

[–] njm1314@lemmy.world 20 points 4 weeks ago

I will not stand for this Pro wasp propaganda!

[–] alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml 19 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] ElJefe@lemm.ee 9 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Yeah, fuck ticks and wasps

[–] alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml 13 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

No, wasps are fine and help deal with invasive species, you just have to not bother them. Ticks on the other hand are bad for everyone involved and deserve to be dropped into a tornado of bleach. If that seems weirdly specific, it's because some scientists did that, then wrote a paper encouraging others to drop ticks into bleach tornadoes.

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[–] RustyNova@lemmy.world 18 points 4 weeks ago (3 children)
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[–] EnderMB@lemmy.world 13 points 4 weeks ago (5 children)

Stupid question.

Could a wasp be bred/altered to not have a sting, or at best not have a sting that can penetrate human skin? It's akin to domestication, but we selectively breed wasps to not be such cunts.

[–] LordGimp@lemm.ee 10 points 4 weeks ago

You're thinking of bees. Also iirc wasps used to be the only way to pollinate certain figs, and considering the popularity of figs through history, someone probably attempted this.

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[–] Ma10gan@slrpnk.net 12 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

I stopped being scared of wasps after learning how to read their body language. Quiet buzzing and relaxed wings = calm, whereas loud buzzing and raised wings = mad. Plus, as long as you're not allergic, a sting is just temporary pain, which definitely isn't worth taking their life. Wasps are literally just animals, and we should be kind to them.

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[–] seathru@lemmy.sdf.org 10 points 4 weeks ago (3 children)

I'm torn by spider wasps. I get irrationally angry when I see one of my wolf spider buddies getting dragged across the yard to their death.

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 8 points 4 weeks ago

That's a sign of a healthy ecosystem. Predators are more likely to be keystone species. Spider wasps are predating on predators. You've got enough spiders to keep the bugs in control and wasps to take care of the extra spiders? I'm jealous!

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[–] henfredemars@infosec.pub 10 points 4 weeks ago
[–] sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml 10 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Pest control guy killed the wasps on my balcony without asking :/ I don't even use the balcony, they were just chillin. Now theres just a pile of corpses

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[–] funbreaker@kbin.earth 9 points 4 weeks ago

I know they're important. I'm also afraid of them because some members of my family have had adverse reactions to stings from wasps. I would like wasps to live happy, happy lives far, far away from me.

[–] KillingTimeItself@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 4 weeks ago (2 children)

listen, i didn't ask to be born with a functional aversion to isopods and insects in general, ok.

I didn't want this shit, but i got it anyway.

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[–] pyre@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago

yeah, nature does not owe you safety, which is why i kill wasps on sight because I'm part of nature. get fucked, wasps, we all know you're just fascist bees.

[–] MelodiousFunk@slrpnk.net 7 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

I haven't killed a wasp in years. And that was only because it was building a nest inside my storm door just above eye level. Surprised the shit out of me because I barely saw the nest in the dark, struggled to change focus, and jumped back once I realized what I was seeing. Was not a fun encounter. It's like, buddy, nobody was gonna be happy with that arrangement.

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