Wasps. Most people hate them. But why people hate them is a matter of debate. One study claimed that people harbor disdain for wasps “because of the general public’s low interest in nature and a lack of knowledge of the benefits wasps bring to the planet’s health and function.”
I have a simpler explanation: Bees give us honey. Wasps make terrifying nests and carry a more powerful sting while not producing any honey whatsoever. They also pull stunts like this:
In this video, a wasp (incorrectly labeled as a bee) can be seen going full zombie. After somehow having its head pop off, it attempts to reattach it by shoving it back onto its wasp neck. If you can’t make it through the whole video, it’s unsuccessful in its attempt.
Regarding how the wasp managed to almost lose its head, we don’t know. As for how the dang thing is still able to manhandle its severed head without dying, Redditors in the comments have offered several theories. Some say that the wasp isn’t actually making any deliberate movements, but that what we’re seeing are random nerve impulses in the wasp’s final moments. Others claim that the tiny thread visible between the wasp’s head and body might be enough to send signals to its arms to reattach the head. Whichever it is, I don’t like it.
Additional commenters were simply taken aback by the experience of watching a bug suffer. However, seeing that the bug in question was a wasp and not a bee, many enjoyed a perverse delight in viewing the wasp in its final moments. “Came to see a sad video of a hurt bee. Ended up being a happy video showing one more dead wasp,” stated one user. “That’s why wasps are the devil,” added another.
That said, don’t think you’re free from wasps because you’ve seen one without a head, as the little buggers can survive headless for a surprisingly long time. That’s why if you’re killing wasps, it’s always smart to treat it like a zombie and go for the double-tap.
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