black hornets?

[Richard]

I was cutting a field yesterday and on the next go around, noticed some bugs. I stopped and looked... they looked like big black horseflies all congregating at a specific area on the ground.

They were QUICK little buggers...I tried to get a view and they'd stop and ZIP away real quick.

I had a voice in back of my head to stand clear of them and NOT make the next pass by them (I'm allergic little cretans of the stinging variety)

I cut elsewhere for while & came back. I got a better look and they WERE black which confused me. Seems their tail had a wasp like shape so I figured they were of some "nasty" family.

On another glance, I thought I might have seen some yellow or something on the TAIL where the stinger is but again, these dudes were BLACK. I kind of self confirmed that they were of the vespid family when I saw some "trash". Seems it was part of a paper nest (aka, hornets)

I don't think I've ever seen a black ones like these, is that legit or was I perhaps getting something mixed up?

As I'm now allergic to the stinging little critters (yellow jackets/hornets moreso than wasps/bees) I was cutting the field with a bit of nervousness as it was probably 4' tall and not cut in 2 years. Perfect place for them to nest as I learned several years ago when this exact thing happened.

In case it crossed your mind, I DID have my epipen with me, as well as cellphone.

The irony is, my wifes aunt passed. she's being cremated and wanted her ashes spread out on the farm in this location. As I was seeing the little createns fly around, it dawned on me the irony...had I been severely stung and not received help fast enough, I could have had a very bad day while helping to prepare the area for someone elses memorial.

 

[ejtaylor822]

Hey Richard,
Back home, down 40 just "over the mountains" from you in Asheville, we had a lot of Black Hornets. Especially at my Grandmother's farm. Most of the hornet's nest were above ground - either in weeds, trees or hanging in buildings/barns. To me, the black hornets are the meanest and most aggressive of all the flying stingers. I have been stung by almost all varieties and to me the hornet is the most painful.

The hornets we had were mostly black and white, sometimes you would see a little yellow mixed in. They had much fatter and rounder bodies than yellow jackets or wasps. I have heard that the hornets are like honey bees and can "smell" you - that is when one stings you, a pheromone (sp?) is released in the stinger alerting other hornets to come join the party.

Down here in Central-NC, in the "flat lands", I hardly ever see Hornets. Plenty of yellow jackets, and honey bees (thanks to a neighbor's bee-keeping hobby) but I rarely if ever see any hornets. Mostly, I see wasps. It's a constant battle in the spring to keep them out/off of the eaves/soffits in the house.

Glad you did not get stung, but at least had the epi-pen.

As far as irony, that would be ironic, almost too ironic. Your wife's aunt didn't have anything against you did she? Did she request that specific area AND have you mow it did she?

Eddie

 

[scott_vt]

Mornin Richard,
When I was a youngster many years ago I used to go down to the farm down the road from my parents home and used to play on the old abandoned equipment out on the backside of the farm. They had an old McCormick Deering track loader that I used to sit in the seat and play with the levers. Well one summer day I went down there and all of a sudden a bunch of those critters came out from underneath the seat and stung me though the blue jeans I had on Back then those blue jeans were thick just to give you an idea how ferocious those things really were

Thought you would get a kick out of that story

 

[Richard]

ok, so it doesn't seem so far fetched that they were black then. Seeing as I've now run over three nests like this (over 4 years) and escaped twice without nary a sting, I'll consider myself very lucky.

The one time I didn't escape, I got about nine stings with about five of them to my face. I think it was perhaps this episode that created my allergies to them as I'd been stung before and nothing ever happened. Forward about 2 years (to last november) and a lowly little wasp stung me. That landed me in the emergency room with about 5-7 (?) syringes of "stuff" being mainlined into an IV.

As for the Aunt being out to "get me"... perhaps she just wanted some eternal company to be scattered with her?

 

[rox]

Thanks for starting such a timely topic. We had a pest problem (whacked them last night wish some spray) and I am wondering if the insects were hornets or a wasps.

I'm going to add an inline photo (I hope) because it is a real small file size only 37K which I think will be okay for dial up users and not bog down the thread. I never did an inline photo before so I hope it works.

Theya re nto very big and I have been stung numerous times, and actually the sting was just a bit worse than a mosquito bite. Some swelling but not all that much, but it sure itched. The set up home underneath our patio table on our front patio which is the main entrance to the house. Next eyar they will ahve to find a better spot as they picked this same spot last year and we were jsut to busy to deal with them.

Can anyone please tell me what this insect is? I drew a one inch line on the paper to give you perspective. I ahd to get out the camera book to see how to take a Macro picture so I hope it is clear enough for you to tell.

Shucks, I couldn't figure out how to do an inline image so I hope I am doing an attachemtn okay.

 

[ejtaylor822]

Rox,
I can identify your insect - it's dead

Which BTW is my favorite kind of stinging insect.

That to me looks like a yellow jacket. The ones I am use to seeing around here, North Carolina, are not as bright a yellow, a little duller, and about the same size. They typically have their nests in the ground, although I have seen a few hanging under eaves and my parents had one hanging under their deck - was real hard to get rid of.

Your right the sting is not that bad, but, its been my experience with yellow jackets that its the quantity of the stings and not the quality. Seems like I always find a nest and get a minimum of 3 to 5 stings.

Eddie

 

[Richard]

and actually the sting was just a bit worse than a mosquito bite. Some swelling but not all that much, but it sure itched.

Yikes woman!!! "just a bit worse" than a mosquito bite? You're one tough gal!!! (perhaps you have monster mosquitoso?)

Perhaps it's different reactions for different folks but I'd put yellow jackets way up there along side hornets as far as sting factor goes. Wasps/bees being far more tolerable.

Note to self: Never try to copy anything Rox tried, where she said she found it to be quite painful...her definition of pain does not mix with MY definition of pain.

 

[rox]

Richard,
Well if it doesn't hurt that much pehaps it is a wasp instead of a yellow jacket. I'll be honest I can't tell the difference which is why I posted this.
However I can identify a bee.

It was kind of wierd getting stung I could feel the poison going through my whole body, gave kind of a tingling sensation all over and I thought to myself, this must be what it is like for people who are allergic but like 100 times worse.

I ahve been stung bad before where it really really hurt but for some eason these stings aren't all that bad and I thought they should be. Plus they sting you real fast and quick, dive bomb you and fly away quick. It's really jsut like a little prick, that swells up and itches for 2 or 3 days. When getting stung by a bee they don't leave, thye jsut keep digging into you and those stings are painful.

We have a lot of bees going right now dining on the lavendar, actually I need new batteries for my camera, and I'll take a picture of the lavendar that borders the olive trees, it's so pretty right now. So I knwo the bees, but these little guys I attached the picture of I really didn't know if they were a wasp or a yellow jacket.