Friday night out
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I loved this snippet in the village Facebook yesterday
Sweet……
*Amy Hulson-Jones*
*19 November at 18:52* ·
Just wanted to say a big thank you to the two l...
5 hours ago
Thursday, 18 September 2014
Angry Hornets in a Jam Jar.
Firstly may I apologise for the disgusting state of my finger nails; I'd bin gardnin'.
I'm never sure if people know what I'm talking about when I use the word 'Hornets'. So these are they.
Our Fig trees are filled with the blighters at this time of year, so I stick these home made traps amongst the branches. Hornets look like giant wasps (only 3 or 4 times the size), and have a mighty sting; two stings can kill.
For the come-hither sludge in the traps, I use cheap beer, Lady Magnon's Apricot jam, and sugar; they just can't resist.
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To me they are European or Waikato Wasps (presumably the Waikato was the first place to have them in New Zealand).
ReplyDeleteThey also look like the wasps we had back in the U.K.
But HUGE.
Delete"Mad as a hornet" has been an expression around here for as long as I can remember.
ReplyDeleteThese ones weren't too happy either.
DeleteNow I know what is hornet. I am alergic to the hornet sting.
ReplyDeleteSo are we all, Yael.
Deleteso may be I don't know what hornet is. When I Googled the word it says wasp.
DeleteI'd need to catch one of each to show you a comparison.
DeleteDo you just leave them in the jar to perish - hope so 'cos they be mighty angry looking hornets.
ReplyDeleteThey die quite quickly. I empty out the jars every week or so, and replenish the sludge.
DeleteHornets are - thankfully - not naturally aggressive. I worked right next to a hornet's nest for a whole Summer once, and they just came and went over my head. They leave you alone if you leave them alone, and it's a myth that two stings can kill a healthy person who is not allergic.
ReplyDeleteAs you can probably see by the video, I don't really worry about them. I trust them to leave me alone.
DeleteWe sometimes get hornets in our veggie garden but no nest this year. I give them a wide berth. Imust say that we have hardly seen a single wasp, let along a hornet, this year.
ReplyDeleteThere are no wasps in England this summer, they have disappeared. Horray.
ReplyDeleteThey're probably just hiding.
DeleteThey are not here this year. Fact.
DeleteThey are HUGE. We have hornets here but they are not quite so big. This year, strangely, we saw very few flying insects other than (of course) flies.
ReplyDeleteMy mom used to call wasps hornets. So I was always confused as to what they were called. In my post today I show some wasps on an apple I hung for the birds. They are attracted to anything sweet. Enjoy your day, Cro. Deb
ReplyDeleteThey are humungous Cro ……. I don't mind hornets, wasps and bees but I'm not fussed on the MASSIVE spiders that come in at this time of year !! I was reading the paper in the dentist this morning where it said that there are lots of spiders this year because of the weather we have had and they are extra big this year !!!! I know it's irrational but, I don't like them. I think it's the thought of them running all over me { even though they are not likely to and that they are so good, eating the insects that eat our plants !! } XXXX
ReplyDeleteI think we're having our usual allotment of most creatures. I haven't seen any snakes this year, or even the big green lizards, but I expect they're about somewhere.
DeleteThose are HUGE, Cro! We have white-faced hornets here, and they can give a nasty sting. Usually, most stinging insects don't bother me too much, but this time of year i find them more aggressive so give them as wide a berth as i can. Last year some ground wasps, or they may have been yellow jackets, attacked me because i mowed too close to their nest. I had between 11 and 13 stings and numerous red welts after all was said and done :0(
ReplyDeleteNo hornets please, have to carry an Epi pen as it is.
ReplyDeleteAs to winter, our winter is very mild, days mostly in the 60's and sometimes 70's. That's why I like winter here.
They have such a menacing sound and appearance, but I agree that if you leave them alone they'll leave you alone. There was a bumble bee this summer that would hover over the kids' backyard pool like a little security guard. She left us alone, but whenever a bird came by she caused them off right away. Guess she thought the water was awesome and didn't want anyone to drink any of it.
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing is, I haven't come across any wasps nests at all this year. Come to think of it hardly seen any wasps either.
ReplyDelete