Grow Your Own Magazine

I joined Grapevine to share gardening tips but must seem obsessed with insects and spiders…. (the earlier case of the large spider, subsequently nicknamed Sidney by H on the H, is now assumed to be a relatively harmless “Tegenaria gigantean” – which hopefully sounds worse than it is - living behind the fridge-freezer). But typically he wasn’t around when needed or maybe this latest example scared him too…. I came down this morning to find on the floor, fortunately dead, what I can only describe as the largest wasp I’ve ever seen (twice the size length and breadth of any standard wasp it has the traditional yellow and black hooped abdomen – but jagged-edged hoops – is about 4 cms long and a quite vivid red nosecone/head. Fortunately I never saw or heard it in flight coz I imagine I would thought I was watching a war movie, even dead it doesn’t look very friendly. What is/was it, a hornet is my best guess, or queen wasp? or another species? Do hornets come indoors? And do I need to do anything other than give it a decent funeral?

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Maybe Sidney wrestled him to the ground last night, bit the brains out of him through the back of his head (get a little magnifying glass to look for this) and then tossed him onto the floor for you to find in the morning. Kind of like a cat does when it brings you a mouse. Well done Sidney I say.

Did it look a bit like this?...http://www.english-country-garden.co...s/hornet-3.jpg

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A simple dude trying to grow veg.

http://haywayne.blogspot.com/ - Minor update - 10th November

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/p/dev036pr___.png

Also, I had a quick read of this this morning: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornet

Quite fascinating little creatures really.

I remember seeing a programme where it showed you how they'd "raid" a beehive and annihilate the entire colony! Mean little critters when they want to bee.

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A simple dude trying to grow veg.

http://haywayne.blogspot.com/ - Minor update - 10th November

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/p/dev036pr___.png

hey wayne

yup, that’s the one, thanks… mine looks a bit crosser than the one in pic, praps because he’s dead, probably makes you feel quite cross being dead if all your mates are still buzzing around drinking guinness or whatever hornets do of an evening... Had a look at Wiki and noted the fatal sting record and “It is not advised to kill a hornet anywhere near a nest, as the distress signal can trigger the entire nest to attack.” Oh great, just what I need, a visit from his pals! Currently the corpse remains undisturbed, I’ll remove it under cover of darkness and hope none of his mates are around, “Wasn’t me, guv, I just found it…”. Dangerous world, int’it?

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I've had them indoors, three now on separate occasions, there must be a nest somewhere. Quite frightening, they are very loud, and having cats have to get to them first in case they get stung, one cat very keen on insect hunting. The first two had to be murdered with a broom as we couldn't reach them otherwise, the ceilings are so high, but the last one obligingly flew into the table light and we managed to catch it with the jam jar and card method and get it outside.
I posted about this and was told about the pheremone thing, but luckly it didn't seem to work.
It's a pain to have to keep the windows shut at night when the lights are on.
Hope you don't get any more
Sue

Is that picture actual size.... Its enormous...!

I need to Barricade the house up if they are flying around...

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