What Kind of Bee is this?

Started by MagicValley, September 19, 2010, 04:11:29 PM

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MagicValley

There is a 3/4 inch hole in the top on a railroad tie that borders my garden.  These bees are constantly going in and out of the hole. 

This wild colony is about 45 yards from my hive at the back of the yard.

Any ideas on what kind of bee it is?  They seem to be either living underground, or in hollows that may be in the RR tie.
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HomeBru

Not a bee, it's a wasp. Looks like a yellow-jacket.

J-

MagicValley

So is the best this to do, is to kill that colony?  What do you look for to know its a wasp?

They seem to have a very bee-like behavior.

Kathyp

kill themmmmm!!!!!!!!

get some of that 12 foot wasp spray, wait for night, soak the stuff into the entrance.  if you still see them the next day, kill them some more!
The people the people are the rightful masters of both congresses and courts not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert it.

Abraham  Lincoln
Speech in Kansas, December 1859

AliciaH

 :lau:

Ya know, I'm not sure, but I think Kathy has an opinion on this......:)

AllenF

Save the spray and wait until night and gas them.  Cheaper.   Just a cup of gas will work.  Or a bucket of soapy water also if you are worried about the gas.  Go out there and soak them good.

AllenF

And nobody here likes yellow jackets so it ok to kill them dead in anyway you feel good with.   

AliciaH

We're in agreement.....kill 'em 'till their dead!

But out of curiosity, our club has a yellow jacket nest on display at the fair.  Never having dealt with one and now knowing how they get put together, which works better at reaching the internal brood sections of the nest?  Will the soapy water reach all the way through and drown/suffocate the brood?  Will a spray permeate the outer shell enough to kill the brood?  Do yellow jackets leave pheramones the way bees do and you'll have another nest there at some point anyway?  I know our paper wasps keep building in the same place, was just wondering if the yellow jackets would, too.

Thanks!

AllenF

The soapy water soaks through and at least kills the adults.  They young will die without them.  You kill them at night so that all the yellow jackets are back in the nest.   Kill them all that way.  No more nest.  I have never seen yellow jackets build in the same place twice.  But I tend to just gas them.  It is a family tradition.

Shawn

I use the spray and I dont spare any for any wasp colony!

Kathyp

i have an unfortunate history with them.  that's why my fields are not yet mowed.
The people the people are the rightful masters of both congresses and courts not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert it.

Abraham  Lincoln
Speech in Kansas, December 1859

iddee

But they are so cute and cuddly. Couldn't you just kill them a little, and not a whole lot?  :?   :evil:
"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . . Anything can happen, child. Anything can be"

*Shel Silverstein*

AllenF

Is that like killing them slowly, with love of course. 

iddee

It's like the girl that is just a "little bit" pregnant. You just kill the YJ's a "little bit".

Sometimes a "little bit" is sufficient.
"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . . Anything can happen, child. Anything can be"

*Shel Silverstein*

Bee Happy

"kill them some more"   - I can't help but agree.
I think one way to tell them from a bee, is that they usually look narrower, the very distinct yellow and black especially the face mask, I think most wasps have their abdomen spaced away from the thorax more than a bee.  The easiest way to tell is if you can coax the creature into stinging you twice, then you can conclude that it's not a beneficial insect and you should probably facilitate its conclusion.
be happy and make others happy.

gguidester

Sevin dust around the entrance is one of the easiest.  They carry a dust right down where it needs to be without worrying about getting enough liquid to them. A couple of dustings and some patience should do it.  My 2 Cents.

bulldog

burn 'em ! burn 'em all !! yellowjackets aren't good for anything except stinging people for absolutely no reason. but that is just my completely biased opinion on the subject.
Confucius say "He who stand on toilet is high on pot"

HomeBru

Quote from: MagicValley on September 19, 2010, 04:49:31 PM
So is the best this to do, is to kill that colony?  What do you look for to know its a wasp?

They seem to have a very bee-like behavior.

Yep, they're attracted to sweets, they're a colonial organism, "act" quite a bit like bees, they're closely related.

Some differences include:

Bees tend to be fuzzy, wasps are smooth.
Bees have a blunt abdomen (tail) Wasps are more pointed.
Bees are more compact in body style, wasps are longer, some species have definite "waist"
Bees carry pollen, wasps don't.
Bees sting only once, wasps sting multiple times each.

And, as you can tell from the previous posts:
Beekeepers LOVE bees, Beekeepers (mostly) HATE wasps!

MagicValley

I was thinking about gasoline myself, actually.  So tonight I'll funnel in a 1/2 cup of gas, and use spackle to close the hole.  The fumes from the gas will kill them all and the spackle will keep the nest from being used again.  Ach du Liber, just like the old days at Auchwitz!

Thanks for all the fun advice!

Scadsobees

The nice thing about YJ's is that they won't reuse the nest.  The not-so-nice thing about them is that they will find a new creative place next year.

Gas works great.  Some people advocate soaking with gas and then lighting it, but unless you are in the middle of a field, I'd say thats a big no-no!!   :-x

The weird thing about gas is that when I did that last year and then dug up the nest, all of the capped larvae were still alive but the adults were dead.  Dead either way, but I found that interesting.

Rick
Rick