Essays3

The Spider and the Wasp, continued

The battle was intriguing to watch. I spent twenty minutes watching closely through a magnifying glass, being careful not to accidentally get my hand too close to the struggle. I knew I had two things to be concerned about, personally. First, the wasp might escape and be a threat to me. In its anger and fear it could be possible for him to attack the first moving object he could locate. Secondly, if I inadvertently touched the web with my hand I could destroy the web or distract the spider and cause the battle to then be unfair. I found myself mesmerized by the battle and didn’t want to leave my watch post. It seemed obvious the spider would win the fight, although the wasp struggled long and hard. The wasp had other plans. It would rest for a moment or two, then spring to life in vigorous attempts to free itself. In the beginning there was a chance the wasp could free itself from its tribulation, as it appeared to try every survival skill it knew. It was dangling with only one (of 6) legs caught in the web. For a time, I thought the wasp might ‘let go’ of or ‘give up’ that leg and fly away with five remaining legs. I’ve heard of creatures whose survival ability allows for this type of thing.

It was a fascinating drama to observe. There were moments that I found myself rooting for the wasp to be free of the spider’s imprisonment. The spider appeared to have a well-practiced strategy for winning the battle. It did not rest all the while the wasp was in its web’s grasp. There was constant spinning of more and more silk as the spider attempted to attach other body parts of the wasp to further entangle it. After the lengthy struggle, the wasp would appear to be finished…used up. The spider remarkably, appeared to ‘tap it’ a few times with one of it’s front legs. Then the wasp would continue thrashing helplessly about.

After the first twenty minutes or so, I realized this battle would not be over for quite some time. I left the scene and returned every 30 to 40 minutes to check the progress. In my estimation, the entire battle lasted approximately two hours before the wasp was entirely wrapped in the web and apparently dead. Eventually, the spider relocated the now completely entrapped wasp into the center of its web. Later the wasp was hardly a wasp at all. It had become nothing but a mummy of a being, wrapped completely, looking frail and empty of life. The battle was over.

The tiny spider, in an act of gluttony, had won the war and surely would not be ‘hungry’ again for many days. A simple gnat or fly would have sufficed, but the spider was lucky enough to capture a goliath of an insect. It seemed to me the wasp was a dangerous prey for the spider to ‘draw swords with’. A gnat or fly would have been harmless prey and certainly the spider would have had a much less difficult battle.

Interestingly, the spider was nowhere to be seen the following morning in the windowsill. The wasp, now a shriveled corpse, was the only remaining sign of the battlefield. I’m certain the spider wasn’t far off, although I’ve not studied the life of insects to know exactly where spiders go after a great meal. I suppose it is possible it moved on to a new home and is busy spinning a web for it’s next great catch.

After being a close observer of what I deemed a Great Battle, it will be difficult for me to clean up the area in my windowsill without feeling some remorse. After all, I could have freed the wasp early on, rescuing him from his malaise prior to him being fully immersed in his struggle.

In summary, the battle began in a ‘not so pretty’ spider’s web. This was not one of those remarkably ‘beautiful’ webs that we sometimes see…the type that Charlotte spun, in the children’s storybook. This was nothing more than a dirty corner in a windowsill that appeared to have a poorly spun ‘cobweb’ in it. In fact, I would not have expected to see a spider in it at all, had the wasp not become entangled there. It was mere chance that I happened upon the scene. In fact, it was mere chance that the wasp flew into the poorly constructed web in its attempt to gain freedom from inside my house.

The observation has led me to think about my own life with the struggles and battles I find myself experiencing. My unexpected sadness for the wasp has led me to wonder why. Why is it that I feel ‘trapped’ so much of the time? How is it that I find myself relating so well to the torture the wasp endured? Maybe I’m stuck in my own ‘web of destruction’. Then I have to ask, is it too late for me? Am I struggling with only one -of 6- ‘legs’ caught in this web? Or am I fully immersed in the battle and completely encrusted in the silk of my enemy’s terror? And then, who is my enemy? Why do I find it so difficult to set myself free from its grasp? Is there a being larger than myself out there watching me struggle in vain? Will it come to my rescue as I could have rescued the wasp? Or regretfully, is it purely up to me to remove myself from my own web of fright? Is it possible for me to ‘let go’ of one of my (six) ‘legs’ in order to be truly free? Can I survive happily with the missing appendage I leave behind? Will I grow another to replace it? Will I learn to be cautious enough not to become entangled in another web in the future? Perhaps I will go from one web to another leaving behind a piece of myself each time I am freed. This could be one of the great secrets of life. Suppose this predicament of being caught in the web of destruction is not at all uncommon…just suppose.

A Dramatic Chicago Sky

Back Yard Autumn Leaves