wasp thing

Kathyp · January 23, 2008, 05:52:13 PM

is this one of those Japanese wasp things we were talking about last year? i saw these for the first time last year. what in the heck is it doing out when our warmest part of the day was 35 degrees? will it get in the hives?

wtiger · January 23, 2008, 05:57:31 PM

probably had wherever it was overwintering disturbed and is looking for a warm place to hang out until spring.

mark · January 23, 2008, 06:05:24 PM

that is a common yellowjacket. they are stinking nasty ground dwelling (usually)pain in the whereever they sting ya critters that you mostly find the wrong way and unprepared. if you kill it late fall or later you did away with a whole colony that would have been there come spring., the queen is the only one to winter over and starts a new family when it gets warm.

Kathyp · January 23, 2008, 06:15:03 PM

wow. this is only the 2nd year that i have seen these big ones. i have smaller jellowjackts that nest in my hay and stuff. they are a real pain. they are everywhere. these seem to be new to my place :-(

was this a queen and i just missed my chance to kill her? it's gone now.

Jerrymac · January 23, 2008, 06:59:05 PM

Of course we have nothing to judge the size of your wasp, is it this big?

http://www.uneasysilence.com/wp-content/2006/06/japanese_hornet.jpg

Kathyp · January 23, 2008, 07:11:39 PM

ok, i got the bottle it was crawling on and measured what i saw in the picture. looks like it's just under an inch long.

how big is your hand? :-)

poka-bee · January 23, 2008, 07:29:09 PM

YUP, looks like a yellow jacket to me..they winter in my firewood & wake up whle in the warm house..boy does everyone scramble when you hear the Bzzzzzzzz & see them flying around the living room...they are really grouchy too!

Jerrymac · January 23, 2008, 07:37:27 PM

That wasn't my hand, just a picture I found when googling Japanese Hornet.

Kathyp · January 23, 2008, 08:02:05 PM

well.....turns out that we have about 4 kinds of yellowjackets in the PNW. guess i have two kinds living here now. the smaller ones were bad enough. really have to watch flipping those hay bales in the summer. also found that i am not the only one that has noticed these big ones. wonder if they are just thriving and multiplying around here?

xC0000005 · January 23, 2008, 08:48:30 PM

That's one of our more common kinds of wasps (my wasp knowledge is completely absent at the moment, I can't tell you the probable species). WSA has a "Insect Species" guide somewhere that shows it. That one's a queen, most likely. Kill it and you'll be rid a bunch more in the summer. Found not one, but two bald faced hornet queens in the house over the last week. I think they are wintering in the vents. As my daughter said, "Those things are always in a bad mood."

mark · January 23, 2008, 08:54:41 PM

yup queen shoulda killeed her. did i mention that i hate those things?

Scadsobees · January 24, 2008, 09:21:27 AM

Yeah, those overwintering queens really make the regular yellowjackets look little. I've found a few baldface hornet queens who are trying to overwinter, and are they ever impressive!!

Kill her or not you will still end up with the same amount of yj's in your yard. I usually collect them for my boys' bug collection...

Rick

Cindi · January 26, 2008, 11:29:55 AM

Quote from: kathyp on January 23, 2008, 07:11:39 PM
ok, i got the bottle it was crawling on and measured what i saw in the picture. looks like it's just under an inch long.

Kathy, remember this picture I took of the bee and yellowjacket drinking s.s. together? I am trying to put my picture in the same post as yours so you can do the comparison. I think they are the exact same species of yellowjacket. Have an awesome day. And yes, they are the nasty critters that can treat our bees so terribly. Cindi

poka-bee · January 26, 2008, 01:04:46 PM

They pick on bees too? Now I have another reason to hunt em! There are plenty of woods around here for them to nest in so don't need to be living in my mailbox, woodshed, barn, car door jamb, roof, clothes line pipe...bird & bat houses..something fun is to "flick" em (you know, like you do your kid when he/she spits at you) as they annoy you then stomple it! I'm getting very good at knocking em out of the air!

Jody

Kathyp · January 26, 2008, 01:47:21 PM

thanks, cindi. that's the critter. guess i'll have to keep an eye out for these big ones nesting.

missed the queen. when i went back out, she was gone :-(.

wtiger · January 27, 2008, 06:04:42 AM

I only have last year as an example, but when I was doing my heavy syrup feeding last fall the bees seemed to be more than a match for the yellow jackets. The bees seemed to really stop them in the fights I saw.

JP · January 27, 2008, 10:21:09 AM

There are a couple different types of giant hornets, if I'm not mistaken, that are really detrimental to a honeybee hive. As few as a half dozen, I have seen on video and television can wipe out an entire honeybee hive in less than an hour. Regular ole yellow jackets aren't a match for honeybees, its the giant ones the bees have to watch out for.

Sincerely, JP

Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp72gXkYJIw

Cindi · January 27, 2008, 02:28:43 PM

JP, you are one warped dude ;) :) :). Look at your avitar now!!! A dancing bee, nope, not there yet, do the poll, get back the Pokemon!!! Hee, hee. Actually, it is kind of fun to see different dancing insects, innovative and cool.

Kathy, do you remember all the posts about the yellowjackets last fall. Man, some people had some horrible issues with them destroying so much of their colonies. I remember that clearly. After seeing that yellowjacket swoop down to a guard bee on the landing board and pick her up and fly away with her, I have been on a death hunt for these nasties. I have a abhorrence for them like nothing on this earth, and I will be working early this year to search and destroy. The bald-faced hornets are just about as bad. Maybe they eat bad bugs and catarpillars, but I don't care, they have no place on my property, my bees are more important than they. Tough, yellowjackets out of my world!!! Have a great and awesome day. Cindi

Kathyp · January 27, 2008, 03:52:53 PM

cindi, i do remember. probably didn't pay to much attention. i had some of the smaller ones around my hive, but the bees seemed able to take care of them if i was careful not to spill syrup and stuff around. the small ones are not much bigger than the honey bees. in fact, it was the small ones that i got calls on last year because people couldn't tell the difference between them and honey bees. if they'd had these big things around, there would have been no question.

i'll put traps out early. maybe it will help. i am ticked at myself for not killing that sucker that i photographed.

reinbeau · January 27, 2008, 10:23:50 PM

The president of our bee club lost four hives last year to yellow jackets. Nasty little bastages! :-x