Before the service started on Sunday, August 7, someone asked whether I could do anything about the paper wasps building a nest in the window right next to the main door. During Announcements, I asked everyone to help while I addressed the queen, and their wonderful wave of positive energy supported and uplifted this very special inter-species conversation.
I assured the queen that we respected and appreciated her people, and that we wished to find a win-win solution. I explained that this was a busy entryway, and our comings and goings might cause the wasps to feel we were a threat to the safety of their babies. I asked the queen to consider moving to the window at the other end of our building, where there would be less disturbance.
The response from the queen was amazing! Because we addressed her respectfully and ASKED for cooperation, she was seriously considering our suggestion even though a few of her people were furious at the whole idea.
A week later the queen contacted me and asked that the nest be displayed at Interfaith in a nice glass box frame, as a tribute to the diplomatic agreement reached between our two peoples in this place of peace. The queen particularly liked the idea of making sure the youth group at Interfaith understands the significance of this event.
Wasps are very proud beings who are not accustomed to asking anyone for anything, but the queen chose her words carefully and expressed them with regal respect. I got the feeling that cooperating with humans is very rare in her experience, so it deserves to be publicly honored.
Delyth (our pastor) agreed with me; however, wasps were still working on the nest. I wasn’t sure what to do next, so I decided to step back and let things take their natural course.
Here is The Rest of the Story… Most of the family moved to another site, construction stopped, the brood cells remained empty. A few wasps stayed at the nest, like security guards; but one by one they and their sisters have perished from the cold. I’d like to take down the nest and find a nice display box for it, as the queen requested. As for the queen herself, by now she is sound asleep in a cozy den, dreaming of the warm breezes of spring. And as I write this, I see her wake up just enough to smile!
Angels, Fairies and Life 