The first is that I'm going to get the house to a stage where I'm not embarrassed to let people through the front door.
The second is that I'm going to learn more about Australian bees, wasps and ants (order Hymenoptera).
(I know. This is hardly Hold the front page! stuff. But I can't be on full throttle all the time.)
One of these is more difficult to achieve than the other. I'm not sure which. It's true there are about 15,000 described species of Hymenoptera in Australia, many of which can only be identified under a microscope by experts who have teased out their reproductive tracts. (That's the insects' reproductive tracts, not those of the experts.) And that could be considered a bit tricky, taking years to amass the relevant scientific literature and hone the necessary skills. But ... well ... you haven't seen my house.
So here is the first step in my new-found interest in native bees, wasps, ants and sawflies. (Second step, if you count this fuzzy bee photo.) It's a wasp. Or a bee. No, it's probably a wasp. (No, not the bug in the middle. The thing up in the top left corner.) It was on my weeds. Now, if I had all the relevant scientific literature, the necessary skills, a microscope and an expert with teased out reproductive tract, I could tell you what it was. But I haven't. So I might just clean up the bathroom instead.
