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Is this a hornet?

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  • 10-08-2017 12:07pm
    #1
    mr chips
    Registered Users Posts: 608 ✭✭✭


    Big b@st@rd a over an inch long, back end stripey like a wasp but much bigger than any wasp I've seen in this country.  Stinger to match! :O

    424798.jpg

    424799.jpg


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    #2
    franklyon
    Registered Users Posts: 614 ✭✭✭franklyon


    looks nasty whatever it is.


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    #3
    kylith
    Registered Users Posts: 17,736 ✭✭✭✭kylith


    Could well be, or it could be a wood wasp.

    At any rate, I recommend killing it with fire.


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    #4
    FanadMan
    Registered Users Posts: 3,820 ✭✭✭FanadMan


    That's not a stinger.....that's a full sized hypodermic bloody needle!!!!


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    #5
    grogi
    Registered Users Posts: 8,615 ✭✭✭grogi


    kylith wrote: »
    Could well be, or it could be a wood wasp.

    At any rate, I recommend killing it with fire.

    Yes, looks like a wood wasp. Never seen a hornet with that facia...


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    #6
    Carb
    Registered Users Posts: 831 ✭✭✭Carb


    Wood wasp I believe. Went through the same question last year when I seen one for the first time. Saw one this year too in the exact same area. Apparently they're harmless.


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    #7
    endacl
    Registered Users Posts: 22,237 ✭✭✭✭endacl


    FanadMan wrote: »
    That's not a stinger.....that's a full sized hypodermic bloody needle!!!!

    It's neither. It's an ovipositor.


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    #8
    endacl
    Registered Users Posts: 22,237 ✭✭✭✭endacl


    Carb wrote: »
    Wood wasp I believe. Went through the same question last year when I seen one for the first time. Saw one this year too in the exact same area. Apparently they're harmless.
    Not even wasps. Sawflies.


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    #9
    FanadMan
    Registered Users Posts: 3,820 ✭✭✭FanadMan


    endacl wrote: »
    It's neither. It's an ovipositor.

    It's still scary enough looking that if I saw one I'd either wet myself or run away screaming like a 5 year old girl! Have handed all sorts of animals and insects with no problem but bees and wasps (and things that look like them) give me the willies!


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    #10
    Squatter
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,841 ✭✭✭Squatter


    http://www.independent.ie/regionals/droghedaindependent/lifestyle/giant-wood-wasp-thankfully-not-the-stinging-variety-35670180.html


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    #11
    ytpe2r5bxkn0c1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 32,688 ✭✭✭✭ytpe2r5bxkn0c1


    A perfectly harmless Wood Wasp.


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    #12
    kylith
    Registered Users Posts: 17,736 ✭✭✭✭kylith


    I withdraw my suggestion to torch it.

    Now I know it's not dangerous, it's pretty cool looking.


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    #13
    mr chips
    Registered Users Posts: 608 ✭✭✭mr chips


    Cheers for the replies folks!  Did a bit of digging online once I knew what to search for.  Harmless to people but not so harmless to timber, especially pine.  Apparently shouldn't be an issue for timber in houses as that should be too dry, but "sawfly infestation" brings up some interesting results - the grubs can even chew through lead!  In any case, there's a small plantation of native pine near me so I managed to trap it in a jar to be released a few miles away, where it can lay eggs without affecting household timbers or large pine plantations.


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