dear cousin chris, i hope you don't mind me sharing this with the list- in doing so, if anyone is interested, your messages from these critters may also help them. as indians (especially) , we have been taught to not take anything for granted. creator made all things to help us or to teach us- and even the smallest of creatures or happenings are messengers or teacher of somekind. i have experienced theses things myself and find them to be very true and helpfull- only if your mind is open, can things come in. lets start with ants: (they show up for my daughter ALL the time! and in places you would not believe!!! we just had a BIG experience with a small group of about 200 wanting to live in her comforter!! long story short, we took care of this in a good way, and not one ant died or even let off that "ant smell" and my daughter got her bed back!) you will rarely see them alone. they are very social and play a part in a large community. when they are alone, it is probably for scouting or gathering- or some other reason, (caught a ride on someone's shoe, etc. ha ha) anyway, in their community each ant knows his/her job. the queen ant will sacrifice her ability for flight by pulling off her wings in order to give birth. also, the other female role of ant is that of the steril female who becomes babysitters and workers. the queen's life spans 12 years, and so the cycle of 12 is an important factor: could be 12 years, 12 months, 12 days, etc- the point being that you may notice your cycle of being "industrious" may come in "12's" of some time spine. the questions that you are being asked here are: 1) are you sticking to your goals or are you or others around you looking for a quick or easy solution to something? 2) are you making something more difficult than it needs to be? 3) are you creating opportunities for new experiences in your life. The ant teaches us to build our world from the ground up- to understand that we arllhave an important place within our community (be it family, school, church, tribe, ect.), and that with persistance, we can accomplish anything we set out to. Beetle: they are associated with symblols of the sun, (because of the egyptian scarab) because they roll their "dung balls" from east to west- (that is where they lay their eggs)- but the thing that stands out the most with Beetle, is metamorphosis. at one point during this, their front wings will harden to protect their soft underside. the questions that come with beetle are: 1) are you in the process of a change? - or do you need one? 2) do you need to protect yourself more? 3) are you needing to put something behind you, and to enter into a new day? 4) do you need to resurrect something from your past? Now, as far as those wasps (hornets), i have not found them to be among native totems, like thier cousin the bee, but sure they have a message for you of somekind... so, when not sure, the thing to do is to try to notice things you are missing....here's some ideas: 1) when are you seeing them the most? and where? 2) are they acting agressive? what do they seem to be after or attracted to? 3) are they around when you are noticing the beetle's and the ants?? 4) ask God to help you understand the message. (that should really be #1 step) the weather is going to be getting cold soon, so the wasps are soon to be dorment- I wonder if that has some meaning that is tying in with the aunt and the beetle?? give that some thought.... perhaps there is a change needing to take place for you, or a new project to start or finish before winter is here?? It is also good to take a good sized pinch of tobacco to where you experience these things and offer thanks to the four directions-and to the creatures who came to teach you. it is important to show appreciation for these blessings- and to not take them for granted. that is why i suggest the tobacco offering. WOW, with 3 things going here, i hope this will shed some light- i bet the list will just be itching (he he he) to know how you find your answer from this. give it all some thought, (meditate on it). sometimes we can see it right away, and other times it takes a closer look. if it turns out to be very personal, i suggest that you keep it that way- but, when it is not all that personal, but true with what is going on in our life, it is always good to share how your answers came about...that is how we teach others and keep the great circle (newutche wamme netompoag... of "all are my relatives"- Lokota say " All my relations") alive. if we loose our relationship with nature around us, we become separated from our own life and true existance with the "real" world! Ah-poo nan-au-an-tam-oo-ee (take good care) cousin debi