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Post by truebagel on Jul 25, 2020 5:37:25 GMT -8
Hello! With all the "buzz" about the giant asian hornets it made me curious when I saw a giant hornet on my fence. I think the largest species in my area is euro hornets or cicada killers but this looks like a hornet and was over 2 inches long. Could just be a really big boy or maybe a queen not to familiar but still seems big. For reference every hexagon on my fence is an inch tall, dont mind the sc text drive.google.com/file/d/1-wqchkzQVNRXMCIyXfgZiiS8nGViFTek/view?usp=drivesdk |
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Post by truebagel on Jul 25, 2020 5:38:54 GMT -8
Also forgot to mention, that fence is home to many red paper wasps
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Post by 58chevy on Jul 25, 2020 7:02:01 GMT -8
Looks like a cicada killer.
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Post by truebagel on Jul 25, 2020 9:51:21 GMT -8
I agree that makes the most sense but I feel like the head looks like a hornet, I wish I had a better picture but it flew away after my video. In real life when I got a little closer I saw the yellow hornet face not the weird fly like face of a cicada killer but I may have been mistaken.
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Post by Chris Grinter on Jul 25, 2020 11:44:26 GMT -8
It's a cicada killer, which are wasps and I wouldn't characterize their faces as fly-like.
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Post by joniverson on Jul 25, 2020 16:26:01 GMT -8
I agree, a cicada killer. This is that time of year for the adults. I usually have to calm a neighbor or two this time every year after one scares them to death. I stood outside one of their nests one year and netted probably a dozen for my collection. At one point, one flew up with a cicada and I put them both into a jar. It released the cicada and was trying to escape, but every time the cicada moved its wings, it would grasp and sting it. This went one for a few minutes until I cooled the combination. Fascinating to watch. Note that their shading can vary, from the darker color to almost orange. I rarely see the orange versions, but have on occasion.
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Post by 58chevy on Jul 26, 2020 4:44:58 GMT -8
Once when I visited a public botanical garden, I walked about 30 yards between two 6 ft. tall hedgerows that were separated by a narrow path that dead-ended at the back door to a building. When I reached the end of the path, I turned around and to my horror, both hedgerows were swarming with hundreds of cicada killers. I tried to enter the building, but the door was locked. My only option was to run the gauntlet of cicada killers and hope they didn't attack. I ran as fast as I could (probably would have been a world record for the 40-yd. dash) and made it out of there without getting stung. I've never since seen so many cicada killers in one place.
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Post by truebagel on Jul 26, 2020 12:30:29 GMT -8
I agree, a cicada killer. This is that time of year for the adults. I usually have to calm a neighbor or two this time every year after one scares them to death. I stood outside one of their nests one year and netted probably a dozen for my collection. At one point, one flew up with a cicada and I put them both into a jar. It released the cicada and was trying to escape, but every time the cicada moved its wings, it would grasp and sting it. This went one for a few minutes until I cooled the combination. Fascinating to watch. Note that their shading can vary, from the darker color to almost orange. I rarely see the orange versions, but have on occasion. I didnt know there were more orange versions, that helps clear things up ive only ever seen very black/red ones before |
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Post by truebagel on Jul 26, 2020 12:33:48 GMT -8
It's a cicada killer, which are wasps and I wouldn't characterize their faces as fly-like. Do a side by side, im not saying it looks completely like a fly but compared to a hornet face its eyes are bigger and rounder like a flys a little. |
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leptraps
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Post by leptraps on Jul 26, 2020 17:16:05 GMT -8
I get lots of Hornets. Bald Face, a largev Yellow and Brown European Hornet. Cicada Killers, several species of Yellow Jackets. An especially mean little Yellow, White and Green striped job. The worst one is a very small Black White and Green with a yellow head and greenish eyes. I got stung once last year, I thought someone stuck me with a Knife.
I now use Lumite Screen for my Bait Traps. When I used Nylon Coated Fiberglass Screen, virtually anything with mandibles could chew a hole in the screen. Many stinging creatures escaped threw those holes along with lots of Lepidoptera!! I now have a drawer full of stinging creatures, and all of them dead, of course,
I also have three drawers full of flies. Some of them are spectacular.
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Post by joniverson on Jul 26, 2020 17:41:18 GMT -8
Last year, when I had my traps up, I'd get a lot of Bald Faced and several Euro hornets daily and sometimes a Cicada Killer. They absolutely loved the banana and sugar mash like the leps do. This year I only ran the traps a short time and, not wanting to go into the stores to get bananas, tried a stale beer/ brown sugar mix. Daytime leps didn't seem to take to it (but moths did!), but there was one bee that seemed to like the mix: bumblebees! There must have been a dozen the day I took down the trap. They still flew around searching for their meal for a good two hours after the trap was gone.
To combat hornets and wasps, I put together a zapper wand last year that shoots out 1/2" sparks at the touch of a button. It takes care of Bald Faced and paper wasps with one zap, but the Euro hornets and Cicada Killers would sometimes need several zaps. It's long enough to reach into the trap with my hands still being on the outside. Or I can even zap from the outside often times without even opening the trap.
When I was actually collecting Euro samples (I have several dozen), I'd often go ahead and capture and collect whatever leps were in there first while the hornet was present. It never seemed to want to go for my hand. They seem more concerned with trying to escape out the top than my hand in the trap. I'd then collect the hornet last with a kill jar.
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Post by Chris Grinter on Aug 5, 2020 19:05:05 GMT -8
It's a cicada killer, which are wasps and I wouldn't characterize their faces as fly-like. Do a side by side, im not saying it looks completely like a fly but compared to a hornet face its eyes are bigger and rounder like a flys a little. OK, I can see what you mean! |
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