Vespa crabro

These two European hornets were locked in mortal combat. Bugguide.net says they’re females. Were they from different colonies, fighting over a food source? This was right next to a compact but rich hunting ground of Buddeleia swarming with butterflies, skippers, and bees.The pair broke up, took to the air, but did not flee. They faced off against each each other like boxers in the sky, and then tumbled back down to the tarmac. One was left maimed, at the waist and unable to fly. Seventh and fourth grade boys, as well as one very much past school age, were fascinated by the spectacle.Hornet above going for the waist hornet below, who is bent double.

These critters build a nest made of wood that looks rather like the Bald-faced Wasp’s (Dolichovespula maculata), but usually inside something, like a tree trunk, rather than suspended from a branch.

I posted some video of these two on my Instagram and called it “Politics.” I’ve been politically aware since the Reagan nightmare. Since then, I’ve marveled at the unequal fight for power in this country between the majority of us and the minority in power. It’s unequal because not only does the minority have the money, but it understands that politics is the struggle for power: as we’re witnessing in their effort to get Kavanaguh on the highest court (in addition to being a pig about women, he’s a slut for corporations/plutocracy and Trumpian authoritarianism and now, like fellow abuser Clarence Thomas, a very angry and vindictive one). Democrats, beholden to those with money as well, have been woefully lacking in fight for decades. But the times radicalize people; you don’t know what you’ve got until they take it away from you. The Democratic Party must be recaptured if it’s to be any hope for the future.