You misspelled wasp.

Here in Australia we call them European Wasps, and they're god fricken awful creatures. The native wasps here are relatively harmless, and the imported bees are fine too, but these bastards, ugh.

See, a bee only stings once, and only if it really has to because it dies once it does, but a wasp like this horror can sting as many times as they like and do so whenever the crap they feel like it... the worst case is when one gets in your can of drink, and you swallow it and it stings you multiple times as it goes down your throat[edit, terrible spelling]. Apparently people have died that way.

The only good thing about them is that their bodies are remarkably brittle, such that a good flick of the finger or a rubber band (or one of the brilliant fly gun things) and it'll pretty much explode on impact.

Kill them all!

^spoco2
...and you swallow it and it stings you multiple times as it goes down your thought. Apparently people have died that way.

Great, now they can kill you just by thinking about them!? What else can these tiny beasts do? Do they psychically kill your whole family after they kill you? Are they like the Keyser Sözes of the animal kingdom?

terrifying

If one of these flies in my car while I'm driving, I'll probably kill 50 people on the highway by accident...

there was an episode of BBC natural world you have to watch
# "Buddha, Bees and the Giant Hornet Queen" (2007)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fTrSOFyfxs&feature=related

holy shnikies.

that sucker ain't european. it's samoan!!

Actually English Hornets aren't so bad, European Hornets are actually a protected species in some countries (Germany for example carries a 50000 Euro fine for killing hornets or hornet nests)

Asian Hornets...now they are evil little critters... (the japanese bee video shows that...normally the bees will try to lure the hornet scout into the hive and smother it to prevent it bringing reinforcements...clearly that did not happen on the video!)

In conclusion, sting from euro hornet, as bad as a wasps, but no worse...
They are *cuddly pets

This got me thinking of....wait for it...
Hornet Juice!
(link works now)

Argh! The "bees sting once" myth! Bees can, and do, sting repeatedly. Only a small number of bee species die upon stinging. Myth myth myth.

>> ^WilloTheWisp:
Argh! The "bees sting once" myth! Bees can, and do, sting repeatedly. Only a small number of bee species die upon stinging. Myth myth myth.

Erm... ok, except that you are wrong when it comes to STINGING PEOPLE. From our source of all knowledge that is so very correct that you can't possibly argue against it ( ), wikipedia:

Although it is widely believed that a worker honey bee can sting only once, this is a partial misconception: although the stinger is in fact barbed so that it lodges in the victim's skin, tearing loose from the bee's abdomen and leading to its death in minutes, this only happens if the victim is a mammal (or bird).

>> ^kronosposeidon:
^spoco2
...and you swallow it and it stings you multiple times as it goes down your thought. Apparently people have died that way.
Great, now they can kill you just by thinking about them!? What else do these tiny beasts do? Do they psychically kill your whole family after they kill you? Are they like the psychic Keyser Sözes of the animal kingdom?


Yes, I actually saw that typo as I was typing, and then actually forgot to go back and fix it... I saw it when I came back to this thread and fixed it before I saw your comment calling me out on it

Well done sir, I am a terrible spelling and grammar nazi, but when you attack you have done so with great humour and intelligence... my hat off to you sir. (You know, if I were wearing a hat, which I'm not, because I'm indoors, and people who wear hats indoors are dicks)

slap a leash on that sucker.

Anyone else see these huge hornets around their place? I had one in my house just the other day, the thing was truly HUGE! I didn't know if it was a king/queen or just a large species. I'm in OHIO btw. And I also did not kill it.

>> ^spoco2:
The only good thing about them is that their bodies are remarkably brittle, such that a good flick of the finger or a rubber band (or one of the brilliant fly gun things) and it'll pretty much explode on impact.

What the hell!? you can kill your hornets with a rubber band? Here in America these things are armoured out the ass. I had one that was quite a bit bigger than this one hit my windshield when I was doing about 70 mph and got stuck under my windshield wiper. It shook that off like nothing happened and proceeded to sting my wiper about 30 times before it could free itself.

I've also wasted half cans of wasp spray on these guys to no avail.

Oh, come on, that was a really, really small one. And I say that cause I've had my share of experience with these, thank you.

When I was 8 or 9, one stung my forehead when I had fallen asleep in the garden of my parents' summer house (that's Eastern Europe, by the way). I couldn't open my eyes or talk coherently for 2 or 3 days after that - my face had inflated twice in volume and was all red. But it went fairly well for me - some people with allergies or a heart condition may die pretty much instantly after they're stung and as far as I know, there's no antidote under those circumstances. On the plus side, though, my body seems to have developed some sort of a natural anti-dote, because if an ordinary wasp or a bee gets me nowadays, I barely feel it. Mosquitoes and horseflies are, unfortunately, a different story.

Anyway, I've met and fought these nasty little buggers afterwards, too. The ones as small as this are easily liquidated by a vacuum, whereas a shot of electricity (even 220V) doesn't really take them down, they just take a jolt and are on their way; it takes several and even than they're just flying funny and seem a bit disorientated.

Here's a nice close-up of one for those of you who want seconds

They get any bigger and I'm gonna have to join Kent Brockman...

is it.... is it growling...?

Jesus I hate wasps & hornets. I was also surprised no one had ever sifted this one....

http://www.videosift.com/video/Large-hornet-on-hand

Thank you, Zonbie, for being a voice of reason in this thread. The European hornet is not aggressive unless defending a nest and the males are not even equipped with a stinger.

Spoco, the European wasp and hornet are not the same animal. The wasp is as you describe: aggressive, frail and interested in human food. The hornet is none of these.

Excluding those with allergies, I don't get the terror people have of bees/wasps/hornets/etc. Being stung is really not a big deal. Certainly no reason to call for a hunt to extinction.

Unfortunately for me, cats and bees are my only weaknesses.

every super hero has their weakness, AnimalsForCrackers...
here... I brought you something ( opens curtain to reveal giant bag filled with hornets and kitties) POW!

so .... am I to understand that European hornets are similar in size to the Japanese hornets (http://www.videosift.com/video/30-Hornets-vs-30000-Bees)??

they look like those gigantic Japanese wasps.

That looks like a yellow jacket queen rather than a hornet. They are pretty common. Slip a piece of cardboard under it and put it in the radar range for a few seconds.

I used to see a lot of Cicada Killers in the midwest US. They're about that size. Terrified the hell out of me when I was a kid. They're about 2 inches long. I don't think they're very aggressive.

jeez how much energy/horsepower was that thing expending/generating.
sounds like a small engine.

Any insect or arachnid unfortunate enough to enter my house is swatter-fodder. I don't care. I'm the sentient being up in here.

Hehe i love middle aged posh english ladies.

Not like that.

The thing about posh people is there is no distinction in their voices, basically from the age of 12 they all sound middle aged. The only thing that gives it away is her saying "Gordon Bennet". Who the fuck says that anymore...

sheeezus, it's moving the wine glass!

Ant, you may have met your match on this one

It's definitely not a german wasp (aka european wasp) as the excellent closeups show it's lacking the 3-dot pattern on its face. I believe it's also a female hornet, as there appear to be 6 abdominal segments. The male has 7.

>> ^xxovercastxx:
Thank you, Zonbie, for being a voice of reason in this thread. The European hornet is not aggressive unless defending a nest and the males are not even equipped with a stinger.
Spoco, the European wasp and hornet are not the same animal. The wasp is as you describe: aggressive, frail and interested in human food. The hornet is none of these.
Excluding those with allergies, I don't get the terror people have of bees/wasps/hornets/etc. Being stung is really not a big deal. Certainly no reason to call for a hunt to extinction.


Thanks for the clarification overcast, that does clear things up a bit. I don't dislike bees at all, they leave us alone, it's the aggressiveness of the European wasps I hate, they damn well chase you around (and the kids, I predominantly am trying to keep them from the kids, I'd rather not have a screaming kid on my hands). If they just left us alone I'd be fine with them, but they really are aggressive bastards, and their sting hurts enough that I'd rather them not be around.

Plus they're introduced to this country, so we should be able to eradicate them with impunity... (ok, don't extend that too far else all people in this country other than Aboriginals fit in the same basket)

That's a bloody bird in disguise.

I get really annoyed by white anglo-saxon protestants too. And not just european ones either.

*bugs

Adding video to channels (Bugs) - requested by geo321.