What the hell is this (Edited Pic)?

stcatherine

I was doing the ironing today watching a chick flick, generally enjoying the peace and quiet when suddenly my staffie started jumping up at the window and I saw this thing, first glance it looked like a cockroach but then it opened these wings and started to bat against the glass......I got outta there quick sharp ... luckily hubby only works 10mins away so I sos'd him and he came to get it out, he sprayed it with bug spray and we got a pic ... it kinda looks like a hornet. It's not the best pic but it was an orangey colour and has a definite sting on its tail, I tried googling but cant seem to identify it.

edit pic -

reptileguy16

it looks like some sort of forein wasp from south america but then again it could only be a darter dragonfly .........

CrazyTalk

I dont see any picture....

peasant

Some sort of Wasp, I'd reckon ...most likely not life threatening

BTW ...a hornet would be about two and a half times that size (and protected, afaik)

stcatherine

A wasp seriously ? Do we have wasps that big here in ireland ? I mean I dont think the 5cent piece is doing it's size justice ...this thing is bigger than any bumble bee I've ever seen let alone wasp. And in the UK we had 2 queen hornets in our house :eek: and it's def about the same size as one of those.

ewwww

edited to add :

Will try to give a better description .... I think it had a dark Red (kinda burnt orangey brown) coloured body and it looked kinda hairy. With it's wings folded it looked like a Cockroach ... so that kind of colour. Then the body made me think it was a moth, but once we saw it up close we could see it had a very long 'sting'. Also in the picture its curled up it was about twice that length when it was alive.

Vinnie K

I think your husband should be awarded a big round of applause from all on the forum for leaving work and driving 10mins to come to your rescue!

stcatherine

Me thinks he will be expecting more than a round of applause from me tonight 'n'all . He knows a 'Gold Star' opportunity when he sees it !

peasant

stcatherine wrote:

I mean I dont think the 5cent piece is doing it's size justice ...

off you go ..find a smaller 5 cent coin

I have no idea if this is a wasp or not ...just an un-educated guess

stcatherine

peasant wrote:

off you go ..find a smaller 5 cent coin

I have no idea if this is a wasp or not ...just an un-educated guess

..... what I mean is we have an idea of the size of a thing in our head so looking at the picture and the size of the 5cent piece it doesn't make the insect look that big, but if you went out and did the same with a wasp and a bee you would then have more of an idea of the size of this thing !!

I'm just really interested to know what it was cos in all my 34 years I've never seen anything like it before. I'm now starting to regret chucking it away ... some lucky crow will have had it by now !

gerky

Any chance it was this fella
http://www.fugleognatur.dk/english/gallery_uk.asp?mode=ShowLarge&ID=17197

SpicyNoodle

This may be what you are looking for sirex wood wasp -

http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/forestry/8096.html

Gillie

OP. Do you happen to live on the coast?

I'm pretty sure i've seen these things in the sand dunes before.
(I was just out walking by the way!)

stcatherine

SpicyNoodle wrote:

This may be what you are looking for sirex wood wasp -

http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/forestry/8096.html

OMG yes thats it ....... How the hell did that thing get here ? they are not native to this country ?

Should I phone someone ... ?

sesswhat

SpicyNoodle wrote:

This may be what you are looking for sirex wood wasp -

http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/forestry/8096.html

More likely to be the closely related Urocerus gigas a Woodwasp which is common in Ireland. Also called the horntail. The 'sting' is actually only for laying eggs and they are completely harmless and cuddly.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Reflax!!! It's definately only a native Wood Wasp, I have seen many over the years. The "sting" is an ovipositor for laying eggs. It is perfectly harmless. While common they are not plentiful. Shame on you for killing a harmless creature!

stcatherine

I sent a picture of it to whatsthatbug.com to confirm cos the woodwasps here dont seem to have thick black back legs like this one, but I'm sure it was indeed a horntail.

Hind sight is a great thing but I had never seen anything so big before and I wasn't taking a chance that it wouldn't sting my 5 years old or that he wouldn't have a reaction, and unfortunately I couldn't evict everyone from the front room until it had been identified either.

Next time I see one I won't kill it, but I will still be calling hubby to come home and let it out the window !!

racram

SpicyNoodle wrote:

This may be what you are looking for sirex wood wasp -

http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/forestry/8096.html

Good find SpicyNoodle! I was searching through my son's insect books to find it! Very interesting!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Good find maybe: but the wrong species and the wrong country!

Wook

love your gameplan 'kill it first, ask questions later'

stcatherine

Well ya know that Protective mother thing tends to over rule all else in a crisis situation.

SpicyNoodle

Lol...Didn't mean to scare anyone, sorry if I did.

Here is a good site/forum

similar in color, but not to sure about size-
http://www.diptera.info/forum/viewthread.php?forum_id=6&thread_id=2103