Saturday, August 27, 2011

Where Is The Sting?


What's up with people naming things after a scary flying insect? I would not want to live on Hornet Road, and would never get my car washed at the Hornet Car Wash. The name makes me NOT want to go there! There are about 20 species of hornets, and they are a type of wasp. Their stings are less toxic than bees, though the venom has chemicals in it that tell other hornets to attack.  They were probably the world's first papermakers. The paper they make is such high quality that it can be written and even typed on! The wasp pictured is one I took with a macro setting, right up on it! I couldn't see in the sun and didn't know what it was. Phil thought I was out of my mind, and I was lucky not to be stung. See you on Tuesday!


"Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?...But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
1 Cor. 15

31 comments:

Karin said...

I've often wondered about the story behind the naming of Streets, Avenues, or other locations. Some are hilarious and others are so strange! Good shots at great risk to yourself - what a brave blogger!!! Bless you!

Arti said...

Hi Ginny,
I agree with you, gross names freak me out too!!
Hope you are well, heard that hurricane Irene is hitting US...
Have a fabulous Sunday:)

Rose said...

I thought you were doing something I have been meaning to do...and that is photograph some of the street names I see...

Reanaclaire said...

yes, it can be quite dangerous if photographed up close with a hornet.. a sting can be painful if not deadly..
I read in the news.. about the earthquake... hope all are safe and well...

Fred Alton said...

Great post, Ginny! I don't like getting stung - but I don't have an excessive fear of wasps. Many people do. Did you remember that God drove people out of Canaan by sending hornets ahead of the Israelites?

MadSnapper said...

I am in agreement with Phil, were you crazy? BWAK you know you and I are afraid of hornets and stinging things. great shot though and I wonder the same as you, why Hornet in the name. to me a business should think long and hard about what they name themselves, is it easy to say? read? is the sign easy to read while speeding by? is it easy to spell? on and on.... at least i know how to spell hornet. I think.

Hootin Anni said...

Hornets aren't something I'd like, but it's all part of nature's gifts. As Shakespeare once wrote: A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. So a hornet is just a part of our lives and not really all that bad a name for a street. [at least that's my opinion]

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Ann said...

and the signs are green so that would be the green hornet :) I wonder what the buzz is on hornet drive...lol

Bobbie said...

I don't think I'd want to live on Hornet street. Yikes! Great picture. Careful, Ginny!!

Chatty Crone said...

You know they get angry like you said and make others attack - you have to be really careful.

LC said...

Maybe the businesses are named after a local school's football team or something. Not turned off by those names, but I do wonder about how some street names and business names are chosen. Great shots!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Ugh---I don't care for hornets in any shape or form... But--I'd rather live on a street named Hornet Avenue than a street named Booger Blvd... ha ha

Don't get stung!!!
Hugs,
Betsy

Stephanie V said...

It's wasp season here now. They don't seem to mind us humans getting in their way as they float about the yard. Great photo!

DawnTreader said...

I agree, hard to understand why one would want to name a car wash company after a stinging insect!

Deborah said...

Did you know that if a bees wings are wet, they cannot fly! I never knew that but I heard it on Martha Steward radio!
xxoo
Deborah

S. Etole said...

Some of them are just plain mean! Glad you escaped without being stung.

Doris Sturm said...

Oh, I love the photo of your wasp - it has so much detail and I am very careful around them because they sting moire quickly than honey bees because the honey bee dies after stinging just once.

The wasp and hornet can sting repeatedly and depending on which species of hornet it is, can really be life-threatening.

The toxicity of hornet stings varies according to hornet species; some deliver just a typical insect sting, while others are among the most venomous known insects. Single hornet stings are not in themselves fatal, except sometimes to allergic victims. Multiple stings by non-European hornets may be fatal because of highly toxic species-specific components of their venom. The stings of the Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia japonica) are the most venomous known.

When I was little growing up in Germany (we had no car or telephone out in the country where we lived) I once watched my grandmother battle (I mean battle) a hornet with her broom and it really scared me because I sensed how dangerous that insect must have been if my Grandma (an otherwise gentle sweet animal lover) fought to kill a hornet like that!

Annie Jeffries said...

The woman won't go through a carwash named after a hornet, but she'll scope in on an unknown flying critter hovering over a blossom. Rolling my eyes, girlfriend. LOL.

Had no idea they made paper. I'll have to google that.

Ruth Hiebert said...

The name Hornet would not be my first choice for anything.

SquirrelQueen said...

In high school our teams were the Yellow Jackets. The black and gold colors were kind of neat.

It was a yellow jacket sting that put me in the emergency room years ago so I really don't like them. The yellow jackets we have here are very bad tempered, I'll stick with the honey bees.

I do like your macro shot Ginny, it is great.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue ι™ˆζ΄ι›ͺ said...

I watched a few documentaries that the bad guys are the African bees.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue ι™ˆζ΄ι›ͺ said...

The plane flight was a bit frightening. we were all excited to get this once in a life time experience.

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

There are definitely some oddly named streets out there~!

Sr Crystal Mary Lindsey said...

Yes I agree, aweful name. God is the victor over all. God Bless... xx

Tammy@Simple Southern Happiness said...

Now I know how fond you are of bees...NOT~ so you were brave to get up on that one. I wont go near those with stripes, they love sting me.

From the Kitchen said...

I find bees and wasps fascinating and have no fear of them although I have been stung. Now, be honest, if I had admitted this a year ago, would you and Beverly have dared meet up with me? = )

Best,
Bonnie

Shug said...

Hi Ginny...
Our grandson was stung by one of these things a few weeks ago...It ended up with a ride in an ambulance to the hospital...He couldn't breath and couldn't feel his fingers...and his tongue was swelling..danger alerts for some of us when these things are around.
Hugs,
shug

Kim@stuffcould.... said...

Yes the names of streets?? Who knows but hornets have their place in the world...good for something??

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Regina said...

Gee, your not kidding! Wasn't an elderly couple stung really bad (think the wife died) Anyway, names are important to a business! A 95 yr old man was stung hundreds of times by bees! I believe he survived-

Lynn said...

Gracious Ginny, you are lucky not to have been stung. Very interesting about the venom causing others to attack and about the paper. You always add such interesting details to your post. Isn't or wasn't there a car name "hornet"? I for one, believe there are worse names for streets, some almost vulgar. Blessings and do be careful out there getting your photos.
Lynn

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