Over the past two weeks, I've come across two dead hornets (?). One in the basement, one behind the house. I messaged the image to a bee guy, thinking they were killer African bees, but he said they are 'hornets'. I've never noticed dead bees like this before. A major issue? Part of bee colony issues? Is hornet honey a sought-after commodity?

https://avatarhost.files.wordp...mer-dead-hornets.jpg

Hornets are not bees.... there is no honey in their hive.... these are just wasp... pretty much an entirely different insect....

there is a nest some where ... you don't need to worry about it unless you mess with it.

Bees, are bees, not hornets or wasps or anything else.

Hornets are not bees. Wasps are not bees.

Bees make honey.

Wasps do not make honey.

Hornets do not make honey

Do not kill bees or damage or destroy bee hives that they create.

Contact a beekeeper to capture the queen and the swarm.

Contact a pest control company to deal with large hornet or wasp nests.

That is all.

Those appear to be Cicada killers. They are solitary wasps that burrow single underground chambers to insert a prey item along with an egg. They can obviously sting but rarely do.


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphecius_speciosus

You know what? That’s what I thought, based on internet images. Sphecius speciosus, often simply referred to as the cicada killer. I messaged my beekeeper buddy and he says hornet.

So they are not man-killers, and two dead wasps is not harbinger of total ecological collapse. Ok, back to Happy Days reruns . . .

^^^
Maybe show the images to your beekeeper friend

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Bees make honey.

Not all bees make honey. Mason bees don't, but are great pollenators.

Bees are usually fuzzy, wasps/hornets are smooth.

Two is not a problem. The one in the basement could have gotten in through an opened door, and died. The outdoor one was where he/she belonged.

That said, you wouldn't want a nest of whatever these are in the basement, so I'd keep my eyes open down there and see if more show up. If so, probably time to call a pest control pro to 1) take them out and 2) find out how they are getting in (they aren't living on what they can scrounge in a basement) and block that up.

Asking a beekeeper about hornets is like asking a gay guy about hot women - he may not have sufficient experience to provide any expert identification.

I find a few croaked wasps/hornets in the attic (Walkup) or garage every now and again,

I think they managed to get in, and starve or die from who knows what,

any that manage to make it in the actual house are immediately kilt by the cats,


unless you have a big nest in the area , no worries,

Beats having an Aunt infestation.

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Originally posted by RichardC:
Beats having an Aunt infestation.

That wasn't a mis-type, was it?

Well since everyone is displaying their knowledge of flying things I’ll join in with a fun fact I just learned in Costa Rica. There are honey wasps. They are wasps and they make honey. Costa Rican’s keep the hives to make honey mostly for medicinal purposes.

Now to the OP, you have an alien giant hornet killer hiding somewhere. I’d move or burn everything down.

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Originally posted by 229DAK:

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
Beats having an Aunt infestation.

That wasn't a mis-type, was it?

Geico commercial

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Originally posted by frayedends:
Well since everyone is displaying their knowledge of flying things I’ll join in with a fun fact I just learned in Costa Rica. There are honey wasps. They are wasps and they make honey. Costa Rican’s keep the hives to make honey mostly for medicinal purposes. .

^^^^^^ You been watching Gordon Ramsay ? ^^^^^^^

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Originally posted by olfuzzy:

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
Well since everyone is displaying their knowledge of flying things I’ll join in with a fun fact I just learned in Costa Rica. There are honey wasps. They are wasps and they make honey. Costa Rican’s keep the hives to make honey mostly for medicinal purposes. .

^^^^^^ You been watching Gordon Ramsay ? ^^^^^^^

Nope. Not sure what he did regarding wasps. But apparently they are also considered a delicacy so I assume it was on a Gordon show?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wik...achygastra_mellifica

I was in Costa Rica for my honeymoon and saw the wasp hives on a tour of a family coffee farm.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by gearhounds:
Those appear to be Cicada killers. They are solitary wasps that burrow single underground chambers to insert a prey item along with an egg. They can obviously sting but rarely do.


Yes, these are cicada killers. They are everywhere at my house due to a large cicada hatch last month in the surrounding woods. They have not proven in the least to be aggressive, unlike their red cousins. They're docile and have given me no problems at all.

Wasps love my house. I burn through 4-5 bottles of Wasp/Hornet Spray every year. I am damn lethal with the stuff - 1 MOA at 28 feet !!

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Originally posted by jbourneidentity:

Maybe its not what it seems; maybe they're hybridizing.