Hornets or huge bloody wasps??

Uthur

As of today i'm seeing loads of these things floating around in the front and back garden. huge terrifying yokes about half the size of your thumb. dark brown with no obvious stripes or other markings.

i just chased one out the window. it was HUGE. i nearly s**t myself!

has anyone seen anything similar over the last week or so or have i got a nest nearby?? :eek:

Jesus Wept

Have seen a couple of massive bees/wasps/hornets/aliens over the last few days.
Dunno what they were but they were huge.

Turtyturd

I've never been in your garden, post your address and I will drop around when I get a chance.

Gavin "shels"

Probably just bulking up for the summer, steroids and all that stuff.:D

My name is URL

Saw a few large wasps myself over the last few days. It's the strongest ones that are out gathering to sustain the young until summer roles in

Precious flower

At least they're not giant hornets............consider yourself lucky! :eek:

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/arts/2007/04/26/budha460.jpg

Uthur

i've never seen this species before in my life though - i wish i knew what the hell they are. why are they all appearing on the same day? i have a mad phobia of wasps at the best of times - these monsters scare the crap out of me

Jesus Wept

nature is gross.

Precious flower

I hate wasps! I freak out when I see them! I hope they're not getting bigger!:eek:

Take a picture of them and show us!!! We can figure out what they are together!!!

Sid_Justice

what does it look like out of this list

http://www.pbase.com/bmullen/bees

Rhyme

Sid_Justice wrote: »

what does it look like out of this list

http://www.pbase.com/bmullen/bees

Ah ah ahhhh, geddit away from me.

But yeah; solution.

alwaysadub

This is exactly why i don't open windows on days like today!!.

Was hanging out clothes earlier and some huge flying thing came at me but i managed to swat it away with a towel. Didn't realise there was someone looking at me dancing around like a lunatic though

Yakult

Rhyme wrote: »

Ah ah ahhhh, geddit away from me.

But yeah; solution.

now THATS how you deal with them!

I was thinking grenades or dynamite. Would have have been overkill tho and would be arrested.

Uthur

Sid_Justice wrote: »

what does it look like out of this list

http://www.pbase.com/bmullen/bees

it looks like a very big bee...

seriously, i don't see them on there

imagine a honey bee but quite elongated, no hair, no visible stripes, plain brown, about an inch in length or more, lasers for eyes (ok no lasers)

CombatCow

You need one of these op, The Executioner! .Gotta remember to replace the batteries, gonna have some fun if this weather keeps up.... :pac:

Archeron

I'm glad to see bees back.
Its not even near Summer until you've been boffed in the back of the head by a big fuzzy one stoned out his head on nectar and paying no heed to the air in front of him.
Bees do seem to have gotten bigger.

Sid_Justice

Does it look anything like this? A Queen ant (they have wings and fly)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3427/3259161289_06316e388d.jpg

Or more like a brown version of this?
http://www.bobnaturephoto.com/gallery/d/6575-2/GreatGoldenDiggerWasp4.jpg

or anything like this?

http://www.meades.org/photos_from_the_garden/ichneumon_wasp.jpg

it's a pity this thread isn't in nature/bird watching some of those guys know their stuff

Uthur

Archeron wrote: »

Bees do seem to have gotten bigger.

that's what worries me! surely other people have noticed this :eek:

alias141282

Yes I have noticed this. The only thing that really scares me are large bubble bees. God I hate them.

Dave!

Oh man I thought I could handle this thread but now I feel sick

we'llallhavetea_old

i hate wasps, they're vicious little bastards, but i like bees, the bigger the better. they're so dopey and cute, and they're super soft.

the keen edge

It could be a wood wasp,

http://images.whatsthatbug.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/giant_wood_wasp_jon.jpg

BigDuffman

Wasps are terrifying little bastards. Fast, agile and mean. Malignant stripey jumper wearing pricks (a method replicated through-out nature to distinguish pricks of all species even seen in humans).

With bees you see them, hear them and can dodge em. Wasps are like dive bombers!

SaKuRa

Probably queen wasps that have come out of hibernation looking to set up a new nest,they are bigger than the standard wasps.

It could not be ants with wings(young queens),as they would not be around ontil the height of the summer,usually during a period of very warm weather that lasts for around a week,to give them a chance of setting up a new nest,August generally

RonMexico

This thread needs this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omk6bVDzP90

Galvasean

Probably a queen wasp. They generally look for places to set up nest aroud this time of year.

wasps... barbeque spoiling backsterds! :mad:

Bonito

we'llallhavetea wrote: »

i hate wasps, they're vicious little bastards, but i like bees, the bigger the better. they're so dopey and cute, and they're super soft.

I've let bees land on me and they never tried to sting me. There was one summer I felt something on my forehead. I thought it was just a fly or something so I brushed it off. I looked down at my hand and next thing I seen was a wasp on it's back scrambling on to it's feet. Before I got the chance to flick him off the fúcker stung me 3 times in the back of the hand.

Mars Bar

Myself and mam were at the sink in the kitchen yesterday and a massive bee passed by the window. So I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who thought they were getting bigger.

General Zod

Destroy all wasps. We already have the secret of paper, there's no need for them.

we'llallhavetea_old

Bonito wrote: »

I've let bees land on me and they never tried to sting me. There was one summer I felt something on my forehead. I thought it was just a fly or something so I brushed it off. I looked down at my hand and next thing I seen was a wasp on it's back scrambling on to it's feet. Before I got the chance to flick him off the fúcker stung me 3 times in the back of the hand.

ugh, wasps, they're rotten.

my uncle used to keep bees so they would hang out by the well on the hot days, you could just sit beside them and stroke their backs and they wouldn't do anything. loved them.

Fago!

we'llallhavetea wrote: »

ugh, wasps, they're rotten.

my uncle used to keep bees so they would hang out by the well on the hot days, you could just sit beside them and stroke their backs and they wouldn't do anything. loved them.

By the well? Where did you grow up, in a cowboy movie?

antodeco

Uthur wrote: »

it looks like a very big bee...

seriously, i don't see them on there

imagine a honey bee but quite elongated, no hair, no visible stripes, plain brown, about an inch in length or more, lasers for eyes (ok no lasers)

Im pretty sure thats a sparrow..

hal9000

the keen edge wrote: »

It could be a wood wasp,

http://images.whatsthatbug.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/giant_wood_wasp_jon.jpg

jaysus is it just me or does that thing looks like an angry hypodermic needle with wings

Fago!

The-Rigger wrote: »

nature is gross.

Nature IS gross. Hate it.

mrDerek

dont kill em please, iv heard bee populations are shrinkin there kinda important so just let em get jizzed all over by your flowers and leave em be

NothingMan

mrDerek wrote: »

dont kill em please, iv heard bee populations are shrinkin there kinda important so just let em get jizzed all over by your flowers and leave em be

You make it sound like a cheap porno. I'd buy it.

we'llallhavetea_old

Fago! wrote: »

By the well? Where did you grow up, in a cowboy movie?

heh, no. it was at my grannies house.

in a cowboy movie.

ScumLord

SaKuRa wrote: »

Probably queen wasps that have come out of hibernation looking to set up a new nest,they are bigger than the standard wasps.

What would they be looking for? My enemy Neighbor likes to put out bird houses maybe he'd appreciate some more nature in his garden.

Bonito wrote: »

I've let bees land on me and they never tried to sting me. There was one summer I felt something on my forehead. I thought it was just a fly or something so I brushed it off. I looked down at my hand and next thing I seen was a wasp on it's back scrambling on to it's feet. Before I got the chance to flick him off the fúcker stung me 3 times in the back of the hand.

I thought wasps could only sting once and died in the process.

antodeco

ScumLord wrote: »

What would they be looking for? My enemy Neighbor likes to put out bird houses maybe he'd appreciate some more nature in his garden.

I thought wasps could only sting once and died in the process.

Bee's sting once and die, wasps keep going. Well, at least it used to bee the case...

rossie1977

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDSf3Kshq1M

opinion guy

the keen edge wrote: »

It could be a wood wasp,

http://images.whatsthatbug.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/giant_wood_wasp_jon.jpg

The freaking size of that stinger!!!!!!!

General Zod wrote: »

Destroy all wasps. We already have the secret of paper, there's no need for them.

Guh ?

we'llallhavetea wrote: »

ugh, wasps, they're rotten.

my uncle used to keep bees so they would hang out by the well on the hot days, you could just sit beside them and stroke their backs and they wouldn't do anything. loved them.

Stroke their backs ??? You sure you're not thinking of dogs ? Maybe cats ?

rossie1977 wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDSf3Kshq1M

ARGHGH! Gross. lol the youtube comments - THIS IS SPARTA:D

Still thou - seems like them napalm rednecks hsould ahve fire-bombed thw hoel thing

we'llallhavetea_old

opinion guy wrote: »

Stroke their backs ??? You sure you're not thinking of dogs ? Maybe cats ?

you should try it

yoyo

Ive just after killing one of these, was wondering what the bloody thing was, took several blasts of raid to have any effect :eek::eek:, horrible looking things :eek:

Nick

Edit: I think it might be a Carpenter Bee that we are seeing, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylocopa_violacea ?

Noopti

I wouldn't kill a bee unless I really had to, they are vital to our environment and pretty harmless. Wasps on the other hand......

nucking futs

Ugh, I hate bees, wasps, anything that small with wings and a stinger really, hate them with a passion

Thank God for Colony Collapse Disorder :rolleyes:

citizen_p

you need one weapon to stand supreme, a used jam jar and some water..... watch the body count pile up.

MaybeLogic

I think it was Iain Banks, was it, who wrote a manual on how best to deal with wasps.

Sid_Justice

It never ceases to amaze me how cowardly,stupid and cruel Irish people can be. Scared of a harmless flying insect (unless of course you're allergic to stings). OMG it's a bee! OMG! KILL IT!

Really, people, get over yourselves. Irrational fear of something that weights less than a gram in certain cases.

Chuchoter

Sid_Justice wrote: »

It never ceases to amaze me how cowardly,stupid and cruel Irish people can be. Scared of a harmless flying insect (unless of course you're allergic to stings). OMG it's a bee! OMG! KILL IT!

Really, people, get over yourselves. Irrational fear of something that weights less than a gram in certain cases.

But they're scary. Therefore we should use any means necessary to make them go away.

Back to the huge bees though, yes I've seent hem too! They're huge and black looking!

Sid_Justice

It's typical time for Queen bumble bees. They can be about the size of a 2lt bottle of coke lid. Again, as most people have said, quite harmless. They'll be buzzing around looking for some nook or cranny to build their nest in.

If you do find one in your house, no need to kill it, just gently shew (spelling?) them out the window.

Back to the orginal question. We haven't even established it is a bee or a wasp. If it's hairless it's not a bee. If it's all brown it doesn't sound like a typical non-solitary wasp (the original poster says she found them in swarms). I think it's an ant.

yoyo

Sid_Justice wrote: »

It never ceases to amaze me how cowardly,stupid and cruel Irish people can be. Scared of a harmless flying insect (unless of course you're allergic to stings). OMG it's a bee! OMG! KILL IT!

Really, people, get over yourselves. Irrational fear of something that weights less than a gram in certain cases.

I would rather not have to kill it, But I didn't particularly fancy getting stung in the process from the big thing trying to put it out of the window, if the thing was at the window I may have made the effort, it instead was walking on the floor, I didnt fancy getting stung by it so killed it

Nick