3 ms·

Wow. Those hornets seem surprisingly clever. I know Yellowjackets, we have them in Argentina. Their bite is said to be extremely painful but I haven't been bit

by the_af 2y ago

Wow. Those hornets seem surprisingly clever. I know Yellowjackets, we have them in Argentina. Their bite is said to be extremely painful but I haven't been bitten yet despite some pretty reckless behavior on my part. One nice afternoon I was having a snack in a cafeteria, by the open window, and a bunch of yellowjackets started dipping in my drinks and my pie. Apparently they like raw meat (locals use it to drive them away from their own food) but I only had sweet stuff on my table. I got annoyed and killed a bunch of them with my bare hands, with no repercussions (killing dangerous insects with your fists or palms is surprisingly easy if you strike fast against a flat surface -- obviously I waited till they moved away from my stuff). I was later told this was a terrible idea because their bite is very painful (see above: I'm not the smartest about bugs and have been bitten more than once due to recklessness!).

ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
White-faced hornets[0] are a lot more painful than yellowjackets[1] (they are about twice as big, but pretty much the same configuration). I don't think yellowjackets will swarm, if a forager gets killed. Don't step on one of their nests, though (they dig holes). Also have a friend who did that, once. Also, if you get close to one of their nests (hard to see), they might swarm you. The biggest difference, is that yellowjackets are much more aggressive foragers, so it's easy to piss off individuals. I had [yet another] friend that imbibed one that went into his can of soda. He tells me the experience left his lip swollen like a cartoon, for several days. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolichovespula_maculata https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolichovespula_maculata [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowjacket https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowjacket
- cryptonector 2y ago
  Neither bees nor wasps will swarm if far from their nests mainly because there won't be many as they forage in a solitary manner. But when hornets attack as a group, then they swarm, and they use their pheromones to aid in swarming. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onq9ixC7OEg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onq9ixC7OEg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D00mEROqKwU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D00mEROqKwU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx2EA_ooCf0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx2EA_ooCf0 where beekeepers use sticky sheets to get one hornet and then all the other hornets will join the one because they are all attracted to its aid by its pheromones.
- kjs3 2y ago
  We have yellow jackets in the SE US. They are as persistent as they are aggressive. The "yellow jacket in the Coke can" is almost a cliche it happens so often. I once ran over a nest with a lawn mower at my family's lake house. I don't specifically remember being suddenly covered in stinging yellow jackets (I was), but I do remember vividly that was the fastest I'd swum across the lake.

by the_af 2y ago

ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago

White-faced hornets[0] are a lot more painful than yellowjackets[1] (they are about twice as big, but pretty much the same configuration). I don't think yellowjackets will swarm, if a forager gets killed. Don't step on one of their nests, though (they dig holes). Also have a friend who did that, once. Also, if you get close to one of their nests (hard to see), they might swarm you. The biggest difference, is that yellowjackets are much more aggressive foragers, so it's easy to piss off individuals. I had [yet another] friend that imbibed one that went into his can of soda. He tells me the experience left his lip swollen like a cartoon, for several days. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolichovespula_maculata https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolichovespula_maculata [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowjacket https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowjacket

cryptonector 2y ago
Neither bees nor wasps will swarm if far from their nests mainly because there won't be many as they forage in a solitary manner. But when hornets attack as a group, then they swarm, and they use their pheromones to aid in swarming. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onq9ixC7OEg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onq9ixC7OEg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D00mEROqKwU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D00mEROqKwU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx2EA_ooCf0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx2EA_ooCf0 where beekeepers use sticky sheets to get one hornet and then all the other hornets will join the one because they are all attracted to its aid by its pheromones.
kjs3 2y ago
We have yellow jackets in the SE US. They are as persistent as they are aggressive. The "yellow jacket in the Coke can" is almost a cliche it happens so often. I once ran over a nest with a lawn mower at my family's lake house. I don't specifically remember being suddenly covered in stinging yellow jackets (I was), but I do remember vividly that was the fastest I'd swum across the lake.