A Vespa is a wasp

A Vespa is a wasp. How unfortunate that the world’s cutest scooter shares its name with one of nature’s least charming insects—second only to the humble cockroach.

I was embarrassingly late to this discovery, even though plenty of people already knew the scooter’s shape was inspired by the insect. Once you see it, it’s obvious: a broad front, a narrow middle, and that unmistakable bug-like silhouette.

Not wanting to stir up a hornet’s nest—literally—I recently kept a respectful distance while a wasp busily built a mud nest in a tree in the garden. Which means we’ll soon have wasp babies. Delightful. Perhaps I should buy the industrious mother a Vespa.

While buzzing around this topic, I also discovered there’s a superhero called Wasp. It seems every rabbit hole I wander into comes with a matching comic book character.

Marvel’s Wasp, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1963, can shrink to insect size, sprout wings, fly, and fire bio-electric stings. Handy skills, though I’d still rather admire her from a safe distance.

Once I’ve had enough of wasps, I’m moving on to butterflies. Mainly because I’d like to settle, once and for all, what they have to do with the stuff you spread on your toast.