Now we're getting to the meat of the matter. Right now I'm reviewing my definition of being Alive and I'd have to say that's bording on not being what I'd consider alive.
From what I've seen on the discovery channel and animal planet, bugs are sort of "programmed" to do a certain thing when a certain thing for a certain amount fo time blah blah blah. I reminds me very much like one of those robot dogs that were the hip thing to buy your kids a few years ago.
All spiders, save for a few species, follow the same pattern all their lifespan and do not deviate from it, same with ants and all other small insects.
If I were to consider that wasp alive then I'd also have to consider my computer alive. For me, something has to be able to have a thought "Oh, this is good," or "I that is bad, don't touch" or "I don't know what that is, I'd better stay away/go investigate."
The wasp doesn't seem to have a thought. Why is the bug moving? What can I do to stop it?
It doesn't take action to stop it from happening, seemingly just having a planned set of actions in cannot deviate from. "Protect the nest. Provide food. "
So I guess my answer would be no, I do not consider it to be Alive, or a better word would be Cognitive.
But then you go back to the fire. If we go by
Dictionary.com'sdefinition of life, then fire isn't, since it doesn't have a few of the traits mentioned (adaptation was the one that stuck out to me).
But someone mentioned philosophy, and from a philisophical stance I'd also have to say that I don't think fire is alive 'cause it does not adapt or make cognitive decisions. Even the Wasp can recognize when it is threatened, while a fire doesn't lash out at a fire truck when the water starts pumping.