Just killed a flying terror

[Good_Steward]

Ive never seen one of these around my place till this morning. Sounded like the chinook of the insect world flying around my porch. It took 3 blasts of a good wasp and hornet killer to bring him down. I can only imagine what kind of pain the dagger on the tail end of this bad boy would bring! Quarter for scale.
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Attaboy!!! I love the bee threads here.

[Oh Shoot]

Looks like a European Hornet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_hornet

Yep, that is a european hornet,...

 
I concur, and revise my taxonomic opinion :).  I only saw the last of the 3 pix when I responded (was on dialup), just assumed it was the same ole that I see all the time, and especially regarding the mention of huge size (Cicada Killer generally bigger). And now that I think back, it was indeed almost certainly a European that drilled my spousal unit at the time, as you have to pretty much grab a Cicada Killer in your hands and shake it to get it to sting. Mea culpa.
 
Cicada killer:
 

 
 
European hornet:
 

 
Compared:
 

 

The bad news is you probably have a bunch more of them around.
 
- OS
 

Edited May 12, 2015 by Oh Shoot

[Oh Shoot]

Crap, meant to edit, not quote

 

Edited May 11, 2015 by Oh Shoot

[BrasilNuts]

It took 3 blasts of a good wasp and hornet killer...

I killed one outside my back door the other day, only took one whack from my trusty Havaiana.

[tercel89]

There is also a giant hornet that kills cicadas. I watched "something" knock a cicada out of the air as it flew. I walked over to see what it was and from about 10 feet away I head crunching sounds. I watched it remove the cicadas head then the wasp grabbed the cicada and flew off with it. The wasp was over an inch long.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphecius_speciosus

 

The one wasp that scares the bejesus out of me doesn't even fly, at least the females don't. It is the velvet ant and crawls across the ground like a giant ant. The males will swarm above the female and it is easy to see when the female is in the area because of the males hovering above her. She is few and the males are black with a white strip. They call it a cow killer and even though I have never been stung I have heard, and read, of the pain involved with being stung. I read the pain can last up to 6 months. You can hear the female  too as flaps the stubs that are her wings.

 

 You are damn right about the Cow Killers. We have them here and that's why I dont walk barefooted much anymore !

[tercel89]

"Sounded like the Chinook of the insect world"  HAHAHAHAHHAAH that is true but funny !!!!

[A.J. Holst]

And I thought the honey badger was a bada $$

[Ted S.]

From the wiki article linked above:

 

However, there has only been one documented case of a European Hornet sting causing someone to seek medical attention

 

In that case I'll just let them eat wasps and hopefully mud daubers if I see them. I rarely have issues with wasps and hornets when they are close. I usually just let them be or swat them off if need be.

[runco]

Man this is weird, just last night I saw one of the same in my garage.  It was making an awful loud buzzing sound around one of my lights.  It was the biggest looking wasp/hornet I ever saw.  Its exactly like the pictures. 

[hipower]

Our yard has been "blessed" with them from time to time. They love to burrow into the ground, usually at a shallow angle, and build up a hill that resembles and ant mound, but the mound is usually grayish brown in color and has larger granules.

 

These beasts will chase you. They can be very aggressive. And getting stung is like getting hit by a bat, an aluminium bat at that. Their sting/venom can kill a good sized dog. So try not to get stung. You won't like it.

 

I try to follow and spot their holes and come back when the air cools and they aren't quite so active.

 

I'll squirt a can full of Spectracide Wasp and Hornet Killer down the hole to kill the little buggers. I've also poured a little kerosene in and lit it.

[mikegideon]

Our yard has been "blessed" with them from time to time. They love to burrow into the ground, usually at a shallow angle, and build up a hill that resembles and ant mound, but the mound is usually grayish brown in color and has larger granules.

 

These beasts will chase you. They can be very aggressive. And getting stung is like getting hit by a bat, an aluminium bat at that. Their sting/venom can kill a good sized dog. So try not to get stung. You won't like it.

 

I try to follow and spot their holes and come back when the air cools and they aren't quite so active.

 

I'll squirt a can full of Spectracide Wasp and Hornet Killer down the hole to kill the little buggers. I've also poured a little kerosene in and lit it.

 

http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-to-make-and-safer-to-breathe-Napalm/

[suspiciousmind]

I concur, and revise my taxonomic opinion :).  I only saw the last of the 3 pix when I responded (was on dialup), just assumed it was the same ole that I see all the time, and especially regarding the mention of huge size (Cicada Killer generally bigger). And now that I think back, it was indeed almost certainly a European that drilled my spousal unit at the time, as you have to pretty much grab a Cicada Killer in your hands and shake it to get it to sting. Mea culpa.
 
Cicada killer:
 
 
 
European hornet:
 
 
Compared:
 
 
The bad news is you probably have a bunch more of them around.
 
- OS

Dial up still exists?

[Oh Shoot]

Dial up still exists?

 

Yep. I use it 6 weeks out of the year at Mom's. It's either that or pay for monthly broadband to sit idle for the other 44. Or go with smartphone with data plan, which I also don't really care about having in general either.

 

It does cost me 83.40 a year to keep the NetScape dialup service, though.

 

- OS

Edited May 12, 2015 by Oh Shoot

[Wingshooter]

Wow, that's a big one. I've been harassed a bit by the the red wasps this year.

[mikegideon]

Wow, that's a big one. I've been harassed a bit by the the red wasps this year.

 

We fight with those damn things every year.

[enfield]

I used to be that way, until one of those yellow jackets stung me in the face.

I didn't bother hornets until one of them stung me in the face. Ruined my manly good looks for a week!

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

NOPE!!!

 

I do not care what you call them!

I want them all dead... if they are somehow beneficial.. so be it ,but be beneficial somewhere else..

 

Sucks having to carry an Epi -pen around as it is..I do not need these around me ... :ugh:

Edited May 12, 2015 by Oma Sourkraut

[Wicked1911]

I'v killed all kinds of bugs with my BugASalt 2.0, but I'm not so sure it would have any effect on that :( Edited May 12, 2015 by Wicked1911

[JAB]

Looks like a yellow jacket.

 

We have lots of them around where I live.  They often bore into tree trunks.  Not sure if they eat the sap or what.  I am pretty sure they are some type of hornet (they can be as long as my thumb and nearly as big around, sometimes) but we have always jokingly referred to them as 'Texas Yellow Jackets' because they do look like huge yellow jackets.  They can be very hard to kill.  I hit one with a fly swatter once and it only knocked it down.  I then hit it with a baseball bat while it was on the floor and that did some damage but still didn't completely kill it.  Took splitting it in half with a machete to finally, completely take it out (was in a tool shed.)

 

I have seen one fly into a bug zapper and that was an eye-opening experience.  The thing just hung on to the zapper part and repeatedly tried to sting it.  The 'zzzzzttttt' sound made by the zapper was continuous and very loud.  Finally, enough electricity coursed through it's body that its wings caught fire - and it was still hanging on, trying to sting the zapper.  I think it took a good, full minute - maybe a little longer - of constant zapping that was strong enough to burn its wings off even though its wings never actually touched the zapper for the thing to finally slow down and die.  I honestly thought it was going to burn out the zapper before the zapper killed it.  During that time, as it repeatedly tried to sting the zapper, I got a good look at it's stinger.  Probably 1/2 an inch long and as big around as some thin sewing needles.  Wasp spray?  Heh, more like take off and nuke them from orbit.  It's the only way to be sure.

 

In the interest of full disclosure, I did unleash with some bug spray (flying insect spray) on one that was crawling around on the inside of one of my window screens the other day.  I didn't let up until I had hosed it down so completely with direct blasts that its entire body was 'painted' white - and it still took a few minutes to kill it.

Edited May 12, 2015 by JAB

[hipower]

We have lots of them around where I live.  They often bore into tree trunks.  Not sure if they eat the sap or what.  I am pretty sure they are some type of hornet (they can be as long as my thumb and nearly as big around, sometimes) but we have always jokingly referred to them as 'Texas Yellow Jackets' because they do look like huge yellow jackets.  They can be very hard to kill.  I hit one with a fly swatter once and it only knocked it down.  I then hit it with a baseball bat while it was on the floor and that did some damage but still didn't completely kill it.  Took splitting it in half with a machete to finally, completely take it out (was in a tool shed.)

 

I have seen one fly into a bug zapper and that was an eye-opening experience.  The thing just hung on to the zapper part and repeatedly tried to sting it.  The 'zzzzzttttt' sound made by the zapper was continuous and very loud.  Finally, enough electricity coursed through it's body that its wings caught fire - and it was still hanging on, trying to sting the zapper.  I think it took a good, full minute - maybe a little longer - of constant zapping that was strong enough to burn its wings off even though its wings never actually touched the zapper for the thing to finally slow down and die.  I honestly thought it was going to burn out the zapper before the zapper killed it.  During that time, as it repeatedly tried to sting the zapper, I got a good look at it's stinger.  Probably 1/2 an inch long and as big around as some thin sewing needles.  Wasp spray?  Heh, more like take off and nuke them from orbit.  It's the only way to be sure.

 

In the interest of full disclosure, I did unleash with some bug spray (flying insect spray) on one that was crawling around on the inside of one of my window screens the other day.  I didn't let up until I had hosed it down so completely with direct blasts that its entire body was 'painted' white - and it still took a few minutes to kill it.

 

These creatures are darn near as indestructible as cockroaches!

[DT INC.]

I have European hornets like that at my place. They are terrible to gather around the porch light at night.

[hipower]

I have European hornets like that at my place. They are terrible to gather around the porch light at night.

 

That's new behavior to me. I see them out midday and afternoons. Especially as it gets hotter.

[Clod Stomper]

That's definitely not a yellow jacket. Several times larger. We used to call them "German hornets", but I guess European hornet is more accurate. I haven't seen one in quite a while, but they used to get in the house all the time. And fly around the light.

Fortunately I never got stung by one, but heard it hurts like nothing else.

For those who want to leave things like this alone, they are not native. They don't belong here. Same with yellow jackets. And I wish that whatever SOB is responsible for bringing the bastages to this continent to be burned alive. If he's dead (most likely) bring him back and kill him again.

[tnguy]

I killed one outside my back door the other day, only took one whack from my trusty Havaiana.

 

For a second there, I was picturing you attacking the wasp with a cigar.

[mikegideon]

For a second there, I was picturing you attacking the wasp with a cigar.

 

I just attacked my cigar (Partegas) with wasp spray in the garage. Just sitting there and this big old something decided he was gonna hang out with me. So, I grabbed the can and opened fire. He never got a chance to land, so I never got a chance to identify him. He was the right shape and color, and he hated wasp spray. Ran away like a little girl. :)