Spice Cat Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 Found this and many like it crawling on the oak tree near the pits at our club. Any ideas what it is and can it sting???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Whybrow Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 It's a wasp! I guess something about it made you think it wasn't a wasp, was it the size? If so, it may be a queen and yes queens can sting. Edited By Martin Whybrow on 29/08/2016 02:18:09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris North 3 Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 Based on a quick Google, it looks like **LINK** which is a Vespa Crabro or European Hornet Yes looks like it can sting the same as a wasp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darran Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 It's definitely a hornet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spice Cat Posted August 29, 2016 Author Share Posted August 29, 2016 Thanks. I couldn't get anything to scale out with and should have said it's about an inch long. Best avoid them I think!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 If they are hornets should they be reported and exterminated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Skilbeck Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 Posted by kc on 29/08/2016 10:03:39: If they are hornets should they be reported and exterminated? Not the European Hornet which is in decline and is actually protected in Germany, but if you come across an Asian Hornet you should report it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Dav 2 Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 Hornets will be ok if you leave them alone and don't go too near their nest. Wasps are vindictive and will sting just for the hell of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spice Cat Posted August 29, 2016 Author Share Posted August 29, 2016 Yes, wasps are vindictive, the sort of taxman of the insect kingdom. I was stung recently at the field by a wasp and having no anti sting stuff, I resorted to a series of wet wipes. They seemed to work remarkably well. Hornets it is and will advise all clubbites to avoid them. Regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryorbik Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 I read recently that the wasps annoying us currently are the male workers that have been kicked out of their nests in readiness for the queen to move and establish a new nest and colony. Obviously the workers are in a bad mood now as they have no home or food and that is why they are attracted to anything sweet or sugary and ready to sting without much provocation. You have been warned! Barry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Brown Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 Definitely a Eurpean hornet, we have lots of them in Suffolk. Some years ago we had a nest of them in the roof space that was about 600mm wide and 1000mm deep, the largest I have ever seen. Had no option but to use insecticide as the hornets were finding their way into the house and we had two very small children at the time. Until a couple of years ago I had never met anyone who had been stung by one but by accident I uncovered a small nest in our compost heap and they attacked me. Very scary but the sting was no worse than a nettle sting and nothing like as severe as a wasp sting, but this may be just my experience as a web search indicates that the sting may be quite painful. They look far more intimidating than they actually are. However, wasps are a real nasty problem round here some years. Last year I took a drink from a can of ginger beer that had been sitting open by my side and got a wasp in my mouth. Stung me about six times before managed to spit the little beggar out, extremely painful for several hours. BTW, only female wasps are equipped with a sting as the stinger is a modifed ovipositor. Edited By Pete B - Moderator on 30/08/2016 07:35:46 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 Just be aware that it may not be a good idea to swat a wasp if it's anywhere near its nest - squashed wasps give off a pheromone which acts as a warning of an impending attack on the colony and if the nest is close enough for it to be detected, it triggers an attack instinct which can result in an extremely nasty response if they come across a nearby "threat". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 as a side note, for getting shot of wasps in your garden try this **LINK** I know it sounds like a load of old cobblers but we took a punt and tried one this year and to our astonishment it seems to work. Our bbq's have been virtually wasp free and if they do turn up looking for a nice spare rib or a burger, they don't tend to hang around long and buzz off within a few minutes. before they would linger for ages getting more and more annoying and more and more in our faces. This year things have been greatly improved! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Wasps are nasty. I've been stung a few times whilst cycling. The last time was in Suffolk when we were on the tandem and I tried to spit out what I thought was a fly (I'm a vegetarian so couldn't possibly swallow it ). It turned out to be a wasp which stung me a couple of times on the inside of my lip and we had to find a village shop and buy some antihistamine. I always thought hornets were like big wasps and even meaner. Seems they are bigger but milder Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 I had a monster hornet fly into the workshop while I was assembling engines. I did the only thing I could and ran away like a frightened girl. Apologies to those whos orders were delayed while I hunted the beast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Laughton Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Jon no need to apologise I am exactly the same - in my teens I lived in the New Forest, a natural habitat for hornets: this meant that at night in summer you could not put a light on and leave a window open as you would attract hornets very quickly into the room - with the window closed you could hear them bumping into the glass which frankly terrified me and if you opened the curtains you would find over twenty / thirty buzzing up and down the glass.... I once squirted one during the day with a wasp killer spray when it came into the kitchen - boy did it get angry!!!!! I left rapidly' and hid in the bathroom for ten minutes In the very hot summer of 1976 they were a real pain and I had to sleep in a hot stuffy room. My understanding is that most hornets don't have a sting and I recall someone who had a similar phobia about wasps/hornets being brave enough to put his hand into a large vessel full of non stinging hornets on a very old edition of the Terry Wogan TV show - that guy had more guts than I will ever have. Apparently the colouring on the head(?) tells you if they have a sting but I am not brave enough to get that close. Thankfully having returned to my native Northwest in 1979 I haven't been bothered with hornets ever since...phew! Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken anderson. Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 could be one of the latest drones disguised as a hornet...... ken Anderson ...ne...1 ....... drone/hornet dept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert baker Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Looks like a Balsa eating Fly plane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Helling Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Hi All The last time I got stung by a wasp I Spent 7 days in Middlesex Hospital having cortozone injections, my arm had swollen to around 4 times its normal size. Wasps are nasty things at this time of year, especially for those who like me are allergic to thier venom. Please be aware when swinging at them there may be someone nearby for whom a sting is much more than just painful but could be potentially life threatening. John H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 If it really is only 1" long that is a bit small for a Hornet which is usually about 1 1/2 plus. I get them here (suffolk) occasionally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetenor Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 I was told that hornets do sting and the bigger the Hornet the bigger the sting .But they give a little sting first and if that doesn't get rid of you they will give a bigger one ..... Don't know how true that is but it could be ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel R Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Yep, looks like a hornet for sure. We get a few around our way every year. They're usually a bit over an inch, maybe inch and a half? They make a reasonably distinctive low pitch buzzing when they fly, vs a vs wasp/bee buzzes. Leave them alone, they leave you alone... usually. Standard yellowjackets are far more annoying, especially this time of year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.