I'm guessing that's a cicada killer. I think they can sting, but they don't sting... I've never heard of anyone ever being stung by one. Australia far worse.
Thought cicadas only came out every 17 years or something (a bit like Evertonians)? They must have really strong will to diet that long.
There are different species. Some 13 years, some every year, some every seven years, etc. Cicadas are pretty creepy looking bugs... When they moult their old exoskeleton sometimes sticks to what ever they were on... And you'll see a tree trunk with all these giant bug skins stuck all over them.... We had a cicada killer nesting in our water meter once. They don't look pretty nasty too.... From what I understand they're one of the most non aggressive wasps there are. Coolest looking wasps here though are velvet ants. They look like giant fluffy bright red and black ants (they're actually wingless wasps)...
Here's my favourite wasp (Velvet ant)... I think they're quite pretty (for a wasp) please log in to view this image
We rarely see actual hornets in urban areas in the UK (though I hear Asian hornets are appearing in the South). They're just an orange version of the german wasp we get here in early summer, about twice the size of vespas vulgaris, the common wasp. Hornets here are supposedly placid and unthreatening (unless you're a bee). I've been stung five times in my life by wasps, all around my birthday in late September. They're dying off in September/October, their nests are collapsing and they're pissed on ripe fruit. They're all females, and it's like York races when the women have been on cider and cheap champagne all day, they're lying in gutters and swiping at anyone who goes past as they scream and wail about what a bastard their ex was to them (okay, not the last bit). The problem with bees and wasps in the house though is that they panic because they can't get out, get exhausted, crawl into shoes and down the side of sofas - then sting you with their dying act. Still wouldn't harm them though - just put a glass over them and a bit of card underneath the glass. Well, bees anyway. Think I'd be tempted to get a shotgun out if I lived in the US South or Australia.
Nasty little ****ers though (or their stings are, apparently). Wasps losing their wings through evolution though is believed to be how ants came about. they're all related through having mandibles I think, remembering back 50 years to when I last did entomology. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velvet_ant
And I've never been stung by any wasp... Lol... And that's despite being a very outdoors person. I remember first time I took my middle child kayaking, it was in a cypress swamp. I said to my daughter... "Race you to those trees over there." As we got nearest I noticed there was this massive hornets nest in the one she was heading towards.... I yelled at her not to hit it but... Yep... You guessed it, she hit it. Wasps flew out and around like crazy, some flying right at her, she screamed and tried to get in the water but ended up ripping her kayak over.... I furiously paddled over to her... She never appeared... I just knew I was going to get stung, but no, the wasps had all kind of calmed down by the short time I got there. My daughter was safe underwater with her head in the leg cavity breathing there. I righted the kayak, both escaped without a single sting. Never been stung by a bee despite my dad keeping bees when I was little, and me helping him. (He got stung lots of times). Worst here are the darn Asian needle ants. They swarm all throughout the summer, and they're super aggressive, if one of the winged ones land on you they immediately sting you. Sometimes I feel like they deliberately fly towards you just to sting you.
I've only ever been stung indoors. One little swine crawled into my boot to die and thought she may as well sting me multiple times as her final act as I put my boot on (and tried to get it off again). Little ****er was well dead when I got her out, especially when I got my lighter on her in the ashtray ( I'll pay for that when I pass away and my charge sheet is read to me, I know it ).
We always have the paper wasps build nests on our front porch by front door. I kill them by filling a big pitcher with soapy water. (Soap prevents them from being able to breathe) Always feel guilty killing them. Seems terrible way to die.
Yeah... This one... Bees/wasps they both buzz and sting people. I was saying we WERE on topic, discussing tactics to defeat Brentford.
