Insect ident please

[Vorpal]

With wasps, all of the early egg layings are workers, which can lay eggs themsleves, but can only produce haploid males. These are not usually permitted to survive because of worker policing (if they lay, the other workers kill the eggs, usually consuming the contents). Workers do reproduce in colonies that lose their queen.

The queen only produces fertile male and female eggs near the end of the season. These mate and found a new nest in the following seasons. A wasp queen can have multiple mates.

I'm not sure how the sex and caste of an egg is determined. I suspect it's just that when the queen nears the end of egg-laying some of the eggs are fertile.

[Mick F]

All very interesting, and I'm sort of glad we have this colony living nearby.

I noticed this morning, that they are about twice the size they were when I started this thread only four days ago.
They now look like real wasps in size, shape and colour and had I first seen them like this, I wouldn't have raised the question in the first place.

They still aren't posing a problem to us, so they will remain alive .............. until they do.

[Brucey]

All very interesting, and I'm sort of glad we have this colony living nearby.

I noticed this morning, that they are about twice the size they were when I started this thread only four days ago.
They now look like real wasps in size, shape and colour and had I first seen them like this, I wouldn't have raised the question in the first place.

They still aren't posing a problem to us, so they will remain alive .............. until they do.

both the first wasps and the first bumble bees that are produced in the spring by a new colony tend to be rather malnourished (or maybe see the wrong temperature or something) and often come out (of pupation) smaller than normal. The following lot that hatch out are usually better fed/warmed (as grubs) and are more likely to turn out full-sized. Between size and marking variations it can be virtually imporssible to tell the species of bumble bee you have, early on in the year, by looks alone.

cheers

[rjb]

This has brought back some memories - a common occurrence for me.

In 1961 - age 16 - I had the idea to visit some people I knew living near Callander who owned a large country house in the Trossachs and I decided to ride up there 250+ miles in the day. Very little planning and not much idea about feeding and none at all about hydration - nobody had heard of the latter then.

Arriving in the small hours, I found wasps swarming in my bedroom or at least they did whenever I turned the light on. Thousands of them. Not thinking too straight, I decided to turn off the light before getting into bed so they would all settle bit I got stung on a finger for my trouble. Not a big deal but I decided it was not for me so I disturbed some sleepy humans who sorted out another room for me. (I did say large house.) The following morning there was little admiration for my epic ride but something bordering on scorn for being worried about wasps. Then, one of the blighters stung the lady of the house on her arm and it swelled up like a balloon - barrage balloon that is. That was soon cured with an anti-hystamine injection although at the back of beyond, the doc was slow to arrive (Not Dr Findlay either, even though Tannoch Brae = Callander )

Oh well let me be the first to say it - i know you are all hesitating.

It's a bit nippy in the Trossachs.

[thirdcrank]

The house is still there but it's now some sort of holiday accommodation. It's called "Invertrossachs" which fits even better with that joke.

As a point of information, it used to be called Drunkie House, after the nearby loch, but apparently Queen Victoria paid a visit so the name was changed to something intended to be more respectable; nobody had anticipated the rise to prominence of Ken Dodd.

[Mick F]

Just an update to our little visitors.

They are still very busy indeed. In and out of their hole in the bank every daylight hour that God sends, even when it's raining. They're still keeping themselves to themselves, and aren't a problem at all. Busy busy busy, in and out and in and out. Look like a wasp, but still as small as a fly. They look like a wasp, but don't behave like a wasp.
Still small and still no problem to us in the slightest.

Goodness knows what they are, and would still like an ident please.

Wasps OTOH, are a pest now. Nothing to do but annoy people. I was down the pub at Calstock in the garden yesterday, and one fell in my beer. I fished it out and flung it away.

[661-Pete]

Wasps OTOH, are a pest now. Nothing to do but annoy people. I was down the pub at Calstock in the garden yesterday, and one fell in my beer. I fished it out and flung it away.

Yes, we appear to have now reached that time of the year (earlier than most years, no doubt due to the hot spell) when worker wasps become moribund and an annoyance. If you feel comfortable about swotting them, do so - you are not harming the ecosystem at this time of year.

The drones and queens will have been reared; the fertilised queens will be looking for places to hibernate whilst the drones will die. The workers have no further purpose in life. And they have no food source in the nest any more (earlier in the year they fed on a sugary secretion from the larvae). This is why they go looking for sugar elsewhere - e.g. decaying fruit - or jam - or beer.

Time to reach for the rolled-up newspaper....

[Mick F]

Just come out of our wood, having been clearing up and collecting cut lengths of wood.
Our little visitors are still keeping themselves to themselves whilst busy busy busy flying in and out of their hole ........ but recently we've had a few renegade wasps hanging about.

I've noticed that there is often a buzzing noise on the path to the wood, and this morning I was attacked!
Neck, arm, back. All stung inside my overalls. I ran to the house and ripped off my clothes! One wasp flew out and whether he was the only one, I'll never know.

The trouble is, I want to cut the grass, and I'm not about to do it whist these buggers are out and about.
Our little visitors are no trouble at all ............... so they ain't wasps.

[Mick F]

Arm is still stinging quite a bit, though back and neck are ok. The first sting was in my arm right through my overalls.

Any road up, I caught the damned thing and sprayed it with a dose of fly killer. It took nearly and hour to die and it was still twitching when I took these photographs.

It's a biggy eh?

[thirdcrank]

What to do if you're attacked by a swarm of wasps
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-45272344

[PDQ Mobile]

Not a "he" but a royal "she" perhaps?

They are all wasps. Some are common and some are rare. And some are in between!
Google says there are 9000 species in the UK!

[Mick F]

Not a "he" but a royal "she" perhaps?

Are you suggesting that it is a queen wasp?
If so, she must have been flying away from the nest having the sole intention of hibernating until next year to start off a new swarm.

She ain't going to do it now as she's an ex-queen.

[PDQ Mobile]

Not a "he" but a royal "she" perhaps?

Are you suggesting that it is a queen wasp?
If so, she must have been flying away from the nest having the sole intention of hibernating until next year to start off a new swarm.

She ain't going to do it now as she's an ex-queen.

Yes, suggesting that, just because of her size.

[Marcus Aurelius]

One of these landed on me a while back.

It’s a bee fly. Weird looking thing but totally harmless.

[661-Pete]

Arm is still stinging quite a bit, though back and neck are ok. The first sting was in my arm right through my overalls.

Any road up, I caught the damned thing and sprayed it with a dose of fly killer. It took nearly and hour to die and it was still twitching when I took these photographs.

It's a biggy eh?

$matches[2]$matches[2]IMG_0547.jpg

Yes, well ... that looks more like a European hornet to me. Hence its size. They are normally non-aggressive, but when they do sting, it hurts a lot more than a wasp. You have my sympathies!