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It was only the first day
of a 4-day survival campout, and I had partly finished building a summer
lean-to out of sticks and leaves. I had just stopped to take a break, and
was just standing there looking out into the woods when I noticed a small
sound. It was a small crunching sound like someone slowly crinkling a tiny
piece of tissue paper. I glanced in the direction of the sound and saw nothing
but the trees and the forest floor.
I then walked slowly toward the sound, stopping
every few steps to listen. It seemed to be coming from a small beech tree
about 75 feet away. It was spring and the tree still had all its leaves
from the previous year. They were a light tan color, all dried out, and
with the texture of tissue paper.
I moved closer to the sound, isolating it to a single
leaf which was just at eye level. As I stood there with my face only about
a foot from the leaf, I saw a wasp standing on the leaf and chewing its
edge. The first thought I had was that maybe it was chewing the dried leaf
and mixing it with saliva in order to make the walls of a wasp nest. I felt
fortunate to be able to witness this at such close range.
After a minute or two, the wasp suddenly moved to
the underside of the leaf and faced in the direction of my shelter with
only its head visible above the edge of the leaf. In the next moment, a
delicate green insect with a very long tail flew up and landed on the top
of the leaf. Instantly, the wasp jumped to the topside of the leaf. It grabbed
the insect and stung it. After several more seconds had passed, the insect
had ceased all movement.
I stood there in complete amazement at the events
that had just unfolded not two feet in front of my eyes. Then, the wasp
repositioned itself over the insect so that it could grasp it with its middle
legs. Then, it carried its load out to my edge of the leaf. I moved off
to the side a bit. I could hardly believe that it was going to attempt to
fly while carrying an insect every bit its own size. But, with a committed
motion, it launched itself from the leaf and flew off to the southeast with
its heavy load. It seemed to know exactly where it was going.
I watched until I lost sight of it, then stood there
a moment longer looking at the beech leaf with the chewed edge, and thinking
about the drama that had just played out on that tiny stage. I thought about
that wasp's tiny brain - its strategy - its purpose - the green insect who
had chosen to fly up to that leaf - the faint chewing sound that had also
drawn me over to that same leaf - realizing that I had witnessed more than
I could fully understand.
It has always been a mystery that I have never cared
to solve. For me, on that day, it was simply a teacher with unspoken lessons.
(Will Franck - Greensboro, NC. - 1992)
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