"Bees' nest"?!!! WTF!!!

[Benjamin Barrett]

On Feb 19, 2012, at 7:43 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:

> On Sun, Feb 19, 2012 at 10:41 AM, Jonathan Lighter
> <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Many, many speakers, however, being confident of the distinction,
>> nevertheless automatically prefer "bee" when the distinction doesn't
>> matter or when they haven't got a good luck at the buzzing evildoer.
>
> But… But… How can there be a situation in which the distinction
> between a bee and a wasp doesn't matter? And it doesn't take a good
> look to distinguish a bee from a wasp. A casual look is sufficient.
>
> Well, it depends on where you live, I reckon. During the times that
> I've lived in Los Angeles, Sacramento, Boston, and, now, Wilkes-Barre,
> I've certainly had no reason even to concern myself with the fact that
> bees and wasps exist. I have no idea when the last time was that I saw
> either a bee or a wasp. Very likely, not since I was last in Saint
> Louis, in 1962.
>
> People who've never lived where it truly matters whether it's a bee or
> a wasp would certainly not have any particular motivation to
> internalize the distinction.

When I was a kid, we had yellowjackets and other wasps, along with bumblebees and honey bees. I got stung a number of times, but never learned the difference. Even after following this thread, I'm still not convinced it matters, nor do I recall which one is the type with hair. I just don't care.

Benjamin Barrett
Seattle, WA

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