I find it very delightful to observe insects. Sometimes I could see many hardworking bees busily flying to and from flowers and green beetles trying hard to chew leaves of Lantana camara L. in urban parks; sometimes I drove my car for hours to mountain areas filled with fresh air and was fortunate to see many special kinds of insects while taking a walk: some of them are coppers sunbathing on a leaf or mantises moving slowly beside the trunk and ready to eat Holochlora longifissa‚ while others are geometrids lying on the wall and pretending to be invisible. An Odontomantis planiceps lays on a plant in the daytime.  Shot in Huisun Forest Area‚ Nantou County. Of course‚ nature observation is not only limited to trails plotted in advance. Occasionally‚ in order to look for special grasses and flowers or seeing insects perched at the front of the tree‚ I would tread deeply into the forest. Indeed‚ you need experience to determine whether or not danger exists while walking; for example‚ were there holes on the ground? Were there any poisonous plants such as Urtica thunbergiana Sieb. & Zucc. and Laportea pterostigma Wedd.? In short‚ I had to pay attention to every step I took in case of danger. Friends often asked me‚ “Aren’t you afraid of poisonous snakes‚ since you have been out in the field so often?” In fact‚ snakes are not really terrifying. The seniors told us to “beat the grass to startle the snakes”‚ so I often brought my camera tripod or trekking pole to gently sweep the grass or hit the ground when stepping into the underbrush without seeing the ground to alert snakes and to avoid their attack. The one kind of insect I am most afraid of‚ and even poses as Satan in my nightmares is “wasps.” Vespa basalis is currently recognized to be the most toxic kind of wasp in Taiwan. With the very similar shape to a chicken coop‚ it is also called “Ke-Lang-Phang” in Minnan dialect “Digger wasps” refers to Vespa mandarinia‚ the largest size wasp in Taiwan (if I remembered correctly‚ it is also the largest wasp in the world). Having strong toxicity‚ Digger wasps nest underground‚ and are commonly called “digger wasps” accordingly. A Vespa basalis absorbs sap in the daytime. Shot in Xindian District‚ New Taipei City. Another kind of wasps is called “Vespa velutina”. Although it does not have the strongest toxicity‚ it nests very closely to the places where human beings work and rest. Thus‚ it turns out to be the kind of wasps which has been known to attack people most frequently. Besides‚ although “Vespa ducalis”‚ which has the similar size to “Vespa velutina”‚ is big‚ it is not so aggressive. Most of the time‚ it may not attack people as long as they do not intrude into its nest. A Vespa velutina absorbs honey in the daytime. Shot in Guguan‚ Taichung. Due to the demand for nature photos‚ I had to pluck up my courage to approach them regardless of fear. According to personal experiences‚ if you bumped into a wasp which was absorbing sap or chewing rotten fruit in particular‚ it was usually more stable since it only focused on the food in front of it. When approaching the wasp to take photos‚ I slowed my motions very carefully in case that it noticed my sudden movements‚ putting me into a dangerous situation. A Vespa basalis leans toward rotten fruit. Shot in Xizhi District‚ New Taipei City. A group of Vespa basalis gather and absorb sap in the daytime.
Shot in Xindian District‚ New Taipei City. When I once took photos with my friends in Wulai‚ I found a Vespa basalis chewing on moth larva. After discussing it with friends‚ I thought that we might not startle it if we slowed our motions. Upon squatting down slowly for photo taking‚ we saw the Vespa basalis putting down the larva suddenly and flying toward us. Of course we were so frightened that we ran away from it immediately. Although it did not come after us‚ we dared not approach it again. People have to pay special attention when encountering scout wasps because they usually appear in the neighborhood. Sometimes only one scout wasp can be seen patrolling back and forth around you‚ which means that it is observing to see whether or not you are an intruder. When encountering such situations‚ I would stand still and allow it to circle around me twice‚ and it would consider me harmless and fly away. After it left‚ I would observe carefully whether other scout wasps appeared in the neighborhood or whether their hive was actually nearby. If bumping into many scout wasps‚ you should walk away immediately because you have probably already entered their attack range. As a result‚ when encountering wasps‚ I still consider safety as my top priority and fall back first and never move forward hastily in order to avoid danger. One has to understand the natural habits of animals in nature in order to get along with them safely and prevent danger to himself/herself. | 
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