Ontologist

From: steve@vcbconsulting.com
Subject: Coate stories
Date: January 15, 2007 1:14:56 PM CST


I'm sure everyone has their own favorite insect collection story, but I think this one has to be told. It was a warm fall day, not in any way close to the due date for the project, I swear. Four of us were out bug-hunting at the mound and having a merry old time. We made a pretty good haul that day - butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, etc, but as we were busy scouring the ground for more insects (cause let's face it, butterflies are just too much work) we found something that knocked our socks off. The four of us were looking at an ant with fur. Knowing that we must have discovered some new species, I called dibs immediately. After some groaning by the other three hunters, they conceded, and I casually picked it up with my bare hands and put it in a bag for safe-keeping. About a week later while giving us insect notes in class, he mentioned a creature known as a velvet ant. He then went on to explain that this hairy ant was actually a wingless wasp, whose sting is much more painful than that of most wasps you would find around here. Needless to say, my friends were quick to point the finger and laugh as we walked out of class that day. Lucky for me, I have still never been stung by a velvet ant, and I intend to keep things that way for the foreseeable future. I had a simple lesson illustrated for me that day, one that I intend to keep in mind every step of my way through life - When you don't know exactly what's going on, a little caution goes a long way, but never underestimate the usefulness of dumb blind luck.

Steve Bock