(no subject)

There is a pigeon horntail crawling around our kitchen window in confusion. It's outside, but somehow got to the inside of the screen (our windows are effed up; don't ask). It's a pretty scary looking bug, but as with the last scary bug to grace our yard, the long poky bit is an ovipositor; these guys don't sting.

Even knowing that, I find myself a little creeped by the idea of letting it crawl on my hand, like the guy in the photo. If it were some color combination other than "dark with yellow stripes," however, I don't think I would feel as strongly about it. Is this evidence for biologically-prepared fear triggers, or just a learned response to that color scheme? Either way I think it's kind of neat -- this gut reaction that I can examine, but not easily change.