Red Breasted Nuthatch Eating Yellow Jacket

The Yellow Jacket's Comeuppance ... more

by Daniel Eskridge

Title

Red Breasted Nuthatch Eating Yellow Jacket

Artist

Daniel Eskridge

Medium

Digital Art - Digital 3d Rendering/cgi

Description

The Yellow Jacket's Comeuppance

A red breasted nuthatch flies up to a leaf where a yellow jacket has landed.

During the summer the red breasted nuthatch feeds on insects. Though they usually land first and eat the off of a surface, they can hunt via flycatching, that is, snatching the insect right out of the air. This particular nuthatch has just found himself a snack. Bye bye yellow jacket.

I'm not a particularly big fan of Yellow Jackets. Unlike bees which sting only if provoked, these wasps are more like little flying psychopaths. They can sting multiple times. Not only can a sting be a problem if you are allergic, but, because they often land on carrion and feces, you also have the potential problem of infection. Plus, the sting really hurts. I suppose they are useful in that the kill other bugs, but when you have a nest of them attack you, you tend to forget that.

I conceived this work as a bit of artistic revenge after this weekend. I was hiking in the woods with my two young sons when I spotted a nest at the side of the trail. Despite giving it a wide berth they went after us anyway. One of my sons got a nasty sting, and both boys were terrified. I got the brunt of the stings though counting six of them, one of them leaving me with a swollen upper lip for the rest of the day (which is still a bit numb three days later).
Thanks for looking!
Daniel Eskridge

Uploaded

July 30th, 2013