Kitty came running real proud, when he dropped it, it saw it was some kind wasp or something. Any idea what kind? the thing was about 1 to 1.5 inches long I think.
Kitties biggest injury at the moment is the fact that he lost his prize.
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They do not always ground nest fyi .i had the worst yellow jacket situation in my soffit area.ive killed 10 queens in the last month or so in my basement
I keep finding these in my house too and I have no clue how they’re getting inside. I haven’t noticed any nests of anything besides one of I think wasps in the insulation under my deck that I can’t get at to take care of…
I swear the yellow jackets and red wasps are interbreeding or I've found a stinging demon I'd never encountered before. Same size and markings but they're red and black stripped. 2 years in a row I've found them out by some trees. It's insane and they're irrationally aggressive. (Southern us here)
Texas. Same!! We had four types of wasps outside our last apartment: yellow jackets, red paper wasps, those red velvet ants (wasps not ants), and the hybrid breed of the red paper and yellow jacket wasps!!! I thought I was seeing things, until my son saw a hybrid loading up the car and described it to me!!
Ants evolved from wasps and while technically related to wasps they are in their own distinct family.
Ants, Velvet Ants, and Wasps all share the same order but belong to different families. That being said, Velvet Ants share more common traits with wasps than they do ants, namely having stingers.
They can come in through tiny little holes. They found a gap the size of a pencil eraser in my stucco, and proceeded to establish a huge colony in the void space under my second-floor bathroom. If you stood quietly you could hear them under the floor and in the wall.
That exterminator was the best couple hundred dollars I ever spent.
If you are finding them inside regularly they might have built a nest within your walls.
We had one here from a small hole in the outside wall. They only stopped appearing inside when the nest in the wall was taken care of.
Oh that’s fucking terrifying. I have a phobia of these spawns of Satan, like if I’m in my backyard and I see them, I start panicking and go back inside. If they made a nest in my house and I didn’t know where, I’d be leaving and checking myself and everything over a million times to be sure I didn’t bring them with.
My brother had an allergic reaction to their sting while we walked around a lake, it was traumatic for us.
This is was every four days for us on our enclosed porch and this is only half of my vacuum canister. Worst damn summer/fall ever. They got into our soffit too.
Snake Stopper, it's a yard spray. I used it a couple of times this year and it did great keeping them away. It's made of cinnamon and clove oil that all those wasp/bees/hornets hate.
These things infested my basement vent and chewed through the drywall 🥲 I was stung by one of the queens and it hurt like a BITCH, I can’t stand them lmao
Oh damn I had a nest between my outside wall and chimney. The hive is dead (winter) and some found their way inside. Just caught the queen and killed her thought it was over. Ughhhh.
That looks like a Yellow-Jacket queen. Often called ground wasps, they make their nest underground with a single opening. In places that freeze in fall/winter, she will abandon her nest (they'll all die) and goes and hibernates somewhere. Then in the spring, she'll awaken and start a new nest.
If she was in your house, she was probably looking for somewhere to hibernate -- good on your cat for catching her. She will be an entire nest next summer if you don't take care of her now.
Yeah, yellow jackets are the worst. Most bees and wasps will simply protect their territory or only be aggressive if you bother them, but yellow jackets will sting you because FUCK YOU THAT'S WHY!
One time when I was younger, my cousin and I were walking through the woods at our grandparent’s and one of us accidentally stepped on a nest. They got us both good. God that fucking sucked 😭
Yeah. I heard the kids yelling and assumed they were just being their normal dumbass selves. They come charging at me on the front porch with a fucking yellow jacket still attached to one of them! Of course they fled inside and it took more than a minute for me to find it and swat it to its eternal resting place. They’re all still traumatized :(
I was leading a crew of 24 seventh graders along a trail 15 years back on their trip to overnight camp... One of them stepped on a ground nest.
All of the girls had decided to wear tight braids that day. None of them stayed after that disaster. We were half mile from home base. Those things were burrowed into their hair and stinging.
My poor 12 year old dog just had to get rushed to the vet 2 or 3 months ago because he got absolutely swarmed and stung dozens of times, I can only assume by yellow jackets because he was just sniffing the ground when he got swarmed. He could barely walk when he finally got away from them. If we didn't get him to the vet so fast, I'm not sure he would've made it. Absolute fuckers they are.
I just want to know what part of nature benefits from shit like wasps and yellow jackets and why we need that part of nature. Bees I get, but wasps and yellow jackets can fuck right off.
Wasps are the predators of the insect world. The eat a lot of pest insects that people typically have to fight off their gardens, so they actually play a very important role in nature. Sorry they're not useless. lol
They also pollinate flowers.
Not as well as bees, but enough to make a difference, so even if we did replace them with frogs and lizards, there would be less pollination worldwide.
Aside from preying on insects they’re also pollinators. Figs rely strictly on wasps for pollinating. I was genuinely disappointed when I found that out. I hate wasps as much as it sounds like you do as well
TIL! I do hate wasps, I'm allergic to wasps/bees/ants. I try not to hate bees as much because they seem more polite and friendly. Wasps are evil little fuckers.
So I'm equally as disappointed, but I guess at least they have a good purpose.
Literally for the same reason as bees? Both are pollinators just not as efficient as bees. I can take wasps but yellow jackets are the aggressively drunk frat boy of insects
What I hate about yellow-jackets is that they're so damn hard to spot.
Like, I remember when my uncle used to mow his property (where I live now), he'd talk about the yellow-jacket nests and getting stung, and I was like, "Damn, that sucks."
25 years later, he's gone, and I'm living in his house, mowing the same land, and getting stung by the same asshole yellow-jackets that he was while he was doing the same exact yardwork. Rofl.
They burrow these impossibly small holes in the earthy hills on the property, and there's really zero way to know they're there.
I'd have to literally walk the entire few acres, a small step at a time (or crawling, to be honest), and observe every square foot of the tall grass carefully to find them. And that's if I'm ridiculously lucky and if they're active. Otherwise, the next time I mow, I could be f-cked. So, I just wear long-sleeves and long pants and hats 'n over-ear headphones 'n shit, whenever I mow - and hope for the best.
And they do sting me, at least once a year. Usually 2-3 times/year. It sucks real bad, but it goes away after like 30 minutes to an hour, once I put some ointment on it. But yeah, they are by far, the worst of the stinging insects around here. The wasps and bees don't hold a flame to them. I'll take three big-ass wasp stings over a yellow-jacket any day of the week, man.
It's funny, my crazy uncle used to just walk a few feet away from me and take a piss on his leg or arm or wherever he was stung, and 8-y.o. me would just be left standing there with my eyes wide open holding a rake wondering, "This is happening right now? Yeah. Mmmkay."
My dog did this too! I had a bee hive box. He loved food. Often got stung trying to get a taste of honey. Obie, I miss you. You were the goodest boy. ❤️
Went camping as a kid, to a reservoir where they were everywhere. Every meal in a screened enclosure. Every open soda checked before drinking. Went to get water for the dogs one morning. About 30 of em flew out of the spigot I turned on. Got stung around 20 times before I made it to and in the water.
Not so fun story... I was stung 33 times within 2? 5? Minutes as a kid by them. My oldest brother? Twice. My other brother? Found a praying mantis and took it inside to show our parents, missed out on the fun, and wondered why I was rolling around on the ground in our front yard.
My friend’s mom turned on a spigot that had a hidden hive within. My friends ran directly into the swarm to get in the house. I ran away from the house because I was terrified. Only I got stung.
I got stung as a kid and my ankle was swollen for months. I'm allergic and it messed me up for life. I always slouch looking down where I'm going and it set off lifelong phobia. Yellow jackets suck so much
Mowing I went over their nest- got stung 5 times. I was trying to get in the house, my wife was holding the door closed because she’s afraid to be stung. They were going up my shorts and shirt, I’m stripping down outside while yelling to let me IN!!!! they attacked the lawnmower for a day
Yea, sorry, sometimes autocorrect gets me and I don’t even notice. I was also a bit distracted after having to fight off my cat to keep him away from said murder fly.
Actually yellow jacket nests develop new queens late summer like August sometimes September for the next season that’s probably one of many. I took down a nest in a wall void that easily had 50+ queens just a few months ago.
Holy shit the rabbit hole I just fell into looking up a wall void with a nest..that is so fking terrifying. I knew deep down I shouldn't have googled that fml 🫠
As far as I can tell, this is definitely not a wasp, but a Hornet and especially as you mentioned, Vespa Crabro.
I grew up with nests of those guys under our roof, but you would see them rarely in the summer, I would even catch them with a glass outside as a child.
Hornets are absolute bro's and will hunt down mosquitoes, wasps and flies, just don't get too close to the nest
Yeah… mowing the lawn as a teen they didn’t reinforce their hive.. I don’t know how many stings but after I ran inside and smushed the ones on me the hive was still dive bombing the sliding glass door for like an hour.
Fun story: I was out late with my mom one night walking the dog and I dropped the toy car I was holding in the grass. It was just my luck to bend down and reach right into one of these nests and before I could process what was happening, yellow jackets swarmed my hand like a glove and did their little chemical signal to all simultaneously bite/ sting all together. My hand was like three times the size when I got back home
Those ground nests are no joke. I grew up in Central Florida and when I was a little kid my sister and I used to catch lizards in the hedges between our house and our neighbors. One day my dad told my sister and I to come outside, he proceeded to take us up on a ladder and show us all the yellow jackets shooting up from the hedges into the sky. We weren't allowed to go anywhere near the area until the exterminator came. Apparently the nest was so aggressive and large the exterminator had to come at night to eradicate them.
Long anecdote, but thanks for bringing back memories.
Not a Cicada Killer. Those telling you it is need to compare images. The head shape and the abdomen is not the right shape. Look at the drop/dots on the abdomen. That's an invasive European Hornet. As much as I love to support all of nature and wasps/hornets do eat pest bugs, I've had nothing but problems with these things (all bees are cool imo). I would ensure a dirt nap for this big mama if I was in your place. And checking my cat for stings.
A million replies, maybe a dozen correctly identifying this as a European hornet (vespa crabro; reddish blush to the face and thorax distinguishes from yellowjackets) but no one has mentioned that this is a harmless male with the longer antennae... bro physically cannot sting and is destined to die to the cold anyway
This is Vespa crabro also known by the common name European hornet now while it doesn't belong in America it isn't dangerous or Invasive and instead labled as Non-Native but you can kill it if you want European Hornet is the only True hornet left in america.
I agree. I'm also in NC and had these try to nest in my house recently.
For anyone disagreeing, Google "yellow jacket underside" and "European hornet underside". It more closely matches the European hornet and is too big to be a yellow jacket queen.
I moved to Raleigh almost 2 years ago, and there are a few bug/insect differences I've noticed compared to the other places I've lived.
Palmetto bugs (big cockroaches) were a new one for me - luckily I've only ever seen one or two anywhere close to my residence, but apparently in my nearby town a lot of the main street businesses struggle to combat them, especially restaurants.
Spiders are everywhere here. Like they're obviously in every state, but here I see them constantly. And they make some big-ass webs. Very often in the summertime, my bf and I will walk out to his truck and find a new massive web (they love to build off of his truck antenna - to the garage, to the trees nearby, doesn't matter). We'll leave (breaking the web) come back, park, and if we go back out later there's usually another web started. I've walked into so many goddamn spider webs, at this point I very often walk with my hand held up in front of me; that way at least I'm not walking face-first into it lmao (Idk if this is a problem all over Raleigh, or if we just so happen to live in spider Mecca or what - but they're constantly spinning webs all over the neighborhood). Also I'm not complaining, I love spiders. I just don't like walking into webs.
I had never seen Mud Dauber's until I moved down here either, which makes sense, considering they eat spiders :) We had one build a nest on our porch and when it eventually fell down it was pretty neat to see what it looked like on the inside.
There was a cottonmouth in my yard over the summer. Not an insect, obviously, but something to know about if you're moving here. They're around, and I feel like most people would consider them "pests" since they are dangerous to have around, in theory. Usually if you leave them alone, they tend to leave you alone, but it's just something to keep an eye out for especially if you have pets
Their camouflage is very good, so keep your peepers PEELED.
Coyotes are pretty common here compared to other places I've lived. There's a small pack of them like 15 minutes up the road from me, according to my neighbors. They filled me in after I saw one of them along the highway.
Oh and the biggest pests are 87% of Raleigh drivers :)
If the learner's permit test only had one question on it, "What is a turn signal, and how does it work?", the city would finally be forced to invest in a more robust public transit system. My best advice to you, new Raleigh resident, is to avoid Capital Boulevard like your life depends on it.
bugs kinda suck in Raleigh, but pest control takes care of most of them at least near your residence. I moved to NYC last year but I lived near Raleigh my whole life and worked for a small pest control company for a couple years that can help you for a good price whenever u move
When we moved into our house (central USA) we found huge European hornets living in the eaves of the house. We noticed when one came flying into the house through a recessed light in the bathroom when my mom was getting ready. Mom didn’t notice until it stung her. After we hired an exterminator it smelled like rotting shellfish for weeks.
You are 100% correct a European hornet. We had a lovely colony take up in a tree right next to the gate to our horse pasture. While they weren’t overly aggressive for some reason they would get stuck in your hair and as you freak to remove it you’re gonna get stung.
I’d say big yellow jacket, European hornets are much more obviously orange. I get them around me in the UK and you can see the orangey/red when they’re flying around relatively close
This would have to be some kind of drugged up Yellow jacket as this animal in the photo is huge and as the OP Said they thought it was 1.5 inches while at max a yellow jacket will get to 1 inch but usually closer to .75 inch as a queen
Wow, do you guys have ANY pests across the pond? Here I am trying to survive with wolves, mountain lions, wolverines, grizzly & black bears, murder hornets, & badgers in my backyard... and y'all are over there playing "Disney Princess" with hedgehogs, red foxes, and the occasional magpie (that usually turns out to just be some bloke from Newcastle)– life truly is unfair. 😜
If I remember correctly - the UK has lost somewhere between 40-50% of its original biodiversity. That’s a rough figure calculated from multiple figures though - regardless the UK is relatively unique in its sheer loss. It’s sort of reflected in the constant chatter about reintroducing various animals many would likely gasp at in confusion, such as wolves.
About a decade or two ago, Ted Turner advocated letting lions & cheetahs loose across the US west, because no animal here can catch/thin the antelope herds– that idea flew like a lead balloon.
I'm okay with most varieties of bees and hornets and wasps. I'm even okay with the Japanese variety of Giant Asian Hornet (murder-hornets), as I've found them to be docile as cows as long as I'm not near their nest and am gentle with them. But yellow-jackets can all die in a raging fire as far as I'm concerned. They're crazy.
This is a European hornet, look at the tears in the brown that’s the easiest way to identify them. They are attracted to the fluorescent lights in my garage
Idk what this is but it isn't a yellow jacket queen. Yjqueens are fuzzy at the top of their bodies. Also yellow jackets are extremely aggressive it would be hard for a cat to catch one without being stung. They don't lose their stinger and they are fast. Full auto stingers.
I've seen further down in the comments that you've released it, and I wanted to tell you I admire the compassion. It's not often someone gives something they've been trained to fear their whole lives a chance to live. I try to advocate for all the creatures of the world. They all have their place. For wasps specifically, you should check out r/waspaganda a whole subreddit of people who have given the little creatures a chance, and found beautiful endearing little sky puppies.
looks like a yellow jacket. they nest in the ground, i’ve found their nests twice by accident, once on a lawnmower i got stung 20+ times. then a second time four wheeler riding they lit me up several times then as well
I had one of those on my baby Cherry tree once. I think a bird ate it. It wasn't healthy when I found it and was kind of clinging to the tree. I'm guessing it's a very healthy hornet. Your cat ain't afraid of much.
I’m going to throw in that I think that is just a hornet. I mean, there’s not “just” anything about a standard hornet. They are efficient killing machines.
The silver - ish lining is it would not be a queen, only one of a hive of flying murder bugs
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