Ignorance was bliss

There are all these orange-winged bugs flying around out here. I've seen them in summers gone by, but this year there are a gazillion more than ever before. I'll be working at my computer when something catches my eye out the window. A flock of birds perhaps, landing on the sagebrush? No ... just a swarm of these bugs. Did I mention they were big? As in two-inches-long big. So big that they fly very slowly because they can barely lift themselves off the ground. Which is a good thing. I've got lots of time to get out of their way when I see them coming.

Anyway, I've been spending so much time among these bugs lately – they particularly love to keep me company when I'm filling the stock tank – that my curiosity finally got the better of me. I consulted with Professor Google, and he tells me that these aren't just any bugs; they are the official state insects of New Mexico...

...Tarantula Hawk Wasps.

I knew this couldn't be good as soon as I saw the name. I instantly jumped to the conclusion that these wasps turn into tarantulas when they're done flying. Turns out that's not how it works. The truth may be even scarier. 

When a female Tarantula Hawk Wasp is ready to lay her eggs, she finds a tarantula and injects it with paralyzing venom.
She drags the tarantula to a burrow and stuffs it down the hole, then lays her eggs on top of the paralyzed spider.
Several days later the eggs hatch and the larvae feed on the still-living tarantula.
Wait...you aren't reading this while eating your breakfast, are you? Sorry.

Only a few animals, such as roadrunners, eat Tarantula Hawk Wasps. 

It should come as no surprise that I've watched my chickens eat them. They'll eat anything.

Tarantula wasps rarely sting people, as they are very docile; however, they may sting if provoked. Get this: Their sting is among the most painful in the insect world, while only lasting for around three minutes. The sting is said to be immediate and excruciating with the victim unable to do anything other than scream with pain for the three minutes.
I wonder what it takes to provoke them? Sticking a camera in their faces? Let's hope not.

Female Tarantula Hawk Wasps have a stinger that can be as long as a third of an inch.
I think all the wasps in these pictures are males because I'm not seeing any stingers.
The females are so busy paralyzing tarantulas with their venom that they don't have time to pose for pictures.

Let's count all the Tarantula Hawk Wasps on this sagebrush, shall we? 1...2...3... ok, I'm up to 11. 

Had I known what these bugs were while I was standing inches away from them trying to compose the perfect wasp shot, 

believe me, I would have used a much longer lens.

Since there are so many more Tarantula Hawk Wasps this year than last, I'm thinking there was a proliferation of tarantulas last summer upon which the females laid their eggs. Or does it mean there will be a proliferation of tarantulas this summer? 

In either case, I'm just trying to do my part to control the further migration of people to New Mexico.