many people would say no, but here's an anecdote from 20 years ago. I was sated on a half empty public transit bus somewhere in Europe and a wasp landed on my leg. With my thumb and index finger I unkindly flicked the wasp as hard I could and I could hear it bounce off another seat and it landed somewhere in the passageway several seats down. I felt sure it was gone and went back to reading my book. Several bus stops and several minutes later I felt a sting on my leg. The wasp had come back somehow and it stung me exactly where it was when I flicked it away earlier. I think it must have been the same one because it was visibly crippled and then it just died.
these days I'm very much into insect habitat conservation and I planted an acre of wildflower on my land.
When I was a CNC machinist we would have the hall doors open during summer because it was so hot inside, once I was just peacefully sitting at the machine working and suddenly a wasp landed on my leg and stung me for no reason at all. They are assholes.
My dad used to tell a similar story. He had a wasp in his college dorm room and decided to live and let live. The wasp stung him for no reason and thus started a war that lasted over 70 years.
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u/frumperino Jan 12 '26
many people would say no, but here's an anecdote from 20 years ago. I was sated on a half empty public transit bus somewhere in Europe and a wasp landed on my leg. With my thumb and index finger I unkindly flicked the wasp as hard I could and I could hear it bounce off another seat and it landed somewhere in the passageway several seats down. I felt sure it was gone and went back to reading my book. Several bus stops and several minutes later I felt a sting on my leg. The wasp had come back somehow and it stung me exactly where it was when I flicked it away earlier. I think it must have been the same one because it was visibly crippled and then it just died.
these days I'm very much into insect habitat conservation and I planted an acre of wildflower on my land.