One horrified Gainesville, Florida resident went to analyze a ruckus in her yard and occurred upon a weird battle: two snakes preventing the other way up whereas a yellowjacket wasp stung one of many surly serpents.
Evangeline Cummings initially assumed the unusual rustling in her rose bush was a lifeless hanging snake. However earlier than she may totally examine, she noticed one other snake weaving its manner in the direction of the tree, earlier than climbing up and attacking its serpentine sibling, at which level she started filming.
It wasn’t lengthy earlier than a yellowjacket wasp joined the weird and violent yard brawl.
Um okay, @UFEntomology and @MartaWayneUF , I imagine I simply witnessed a BEE 🐝 stinging a CORAL SNAKE 🐍 whereas the CORAL was eating on a RAT (?) SNAKE 🐍 and I would like your help to course of this. @UF #FloridaBackyard pic.twitter.com/djbJJGxaUk
— Evangeline Cummings (@EvieCummings23) October 17, 2019
Cummings’ video has been seen 51,400 occasions on Twitter alone and sparked fierce debate about what possessed the coral snake, which generally lives underground, to not solely head out in broad daylight but additionally climb a tree.
By the best way, I’ve this footage too from later that very same day when the coral made its subsequent try from the bottom. (Seeing this rose bush shifting all “by itself” drew me again exterior to test it out!!) So the coral survived any wasp sting! And wasps appear to nonetheless be current. pic.twitter.com/Dk1z7GWpnr
— Evangeline Cummings (@EvieCummings23) October 21, 2019
In the meantime, herpetologist Emily Taylor from the California Polytechnic State College believes the wasp did in truth sting the snake, based mostly on its further wiggling. Yellowjacket wasps are notoriously (and needlessly) aggressive, and have been the topic of city legends and on-line memes for years.
Many teachers weighed in on the ferocious battle however among the many basic public, the consensus was one among revulsion.
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— UF LATAM Research (@LatamUF) October 18, 2019
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— Shaheed Malik 🎬 (@mrshaheedmalik) October 21, 2019
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— Oogledorf (@oogledorf) October 18, 2019
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