Bugs

Well, this dummy Yankee thought these bugs were bumblebees. Yes, I did. Only thing that sparked my suspicion was that they were twice as big. I was never afraid of those big, sluggish bees. You wonder how that can fly due to their build. They aren't aggressive, and I only know of one story of someone getting stung by one. So, when I began my sojourn here in Kennesaw, Georgia, I had no idea that these big bees were in fact carpenter bees and they can cause considerable damage.

These carpenter bees are called such because they burrow into wood to lay their eggs. I think they are a kind of wasp, but not aggressive like the German yellow jackets I contended with in New England. I was told that they don't sting unless they are really threatened. Some people down here whack them with tennis rackets. They are an unwanted pest, known to drill holes right through walls.

In New England, we have carpenter ants. Fire-ants down here. Which is worse? Carpenter-ants seem to prefer pine perhaps due to its sticky pitch and soft wood. They gnaw wood, weakening it, and then it would be gone. Fire-ants are carnivorous. So which of these bugs are the worse of the two evils? I think I prefer carpenter bees over German yellow jackets, and carpenter-ants over fire-ants.