Ok BeeCrofter, I need some information

[madgardener]

This is to BeeCrofter or anyone out there that can DEFFINATLY identify this insect for me. My best friend called me last night. She lives in Eugene, Oregon. Long story short, there are these ground dwelling hornet like things that have dark bodies but NO YELLOW on them and NO STINGERS. When they're aggitated, they come out of the ground and attack you by BITING you, repeatedly. And hanging on. She was attacked Wednesday suffered serious injuries to her foot they swarmed and had a deathly reaction to their bites which swelled up and looked like giant water blisters. WHAT are these things??? I looked for an identy of these things and never came close. That they BITE and don't have stingers threw me off. Can you guide me to a site where I can locate the bastages? This has me puzzled and intrigued, not to mention I'd love to give her the true identity of this thing. The locals call it a ground hornet, but considering they have no stingers and BITE and continue biting has me really puzzled. Thanks for any help you can give me. (she's healing after 5 days on the couch, a trip to the hospital, and a still round of anti-biotics and her foot swelling five times it size and those huge watery blistery pustules. She also has 4 children to care for so luckily her husband was able to step in and hold down the fort but I bet he now has a totally different appreciation for his little mama now and everything she does in one day........(not to mention she is the bookkeeper for their two stores, gardens, etc.) Thanks for the help identifying these bastages...... madgardener

[zxcvbob]

What size are they? They sound like a type of ant. If small enough (unlikely if you're calling them wasps), they sound just like imported fire ants. They bite, but they also have stingers and they curl up and sting you after they latch on with their mandibles (jaws).

Best regards, Bob

[LeeAnne]

has she tried contacting a pest control office, like Orkin or Terminex something like that? Even if she doesn't need them to exterminate they should be able to tell her what they are.

:-) yadda yadda yadda

[madgardener]

fire ants aren't the size of hornets and fly.............these flew up and out and swarmed her foot adn face and body. the bites they made and chewed on her got as large as silver dollars.......I haven't seen her or the hornets because she's in Eugene and I'm in Tennessee

hornet size, big as a bumble bee, dark, no yellow no stinger NO stinger........she knows what yellow jackets are and these don't have any yellow on them and live underground.....

They sound like a type of ant. If small enough

[madgardener]

not-too-fast-acting

[madgardener]

[LeeAnne]

And please please please tell us what the heck they are if/when you find out!

LeeAnne

-curious!

[Beecrofter]

That's a new one for me, be sure to save some bodies. There are stingless bees that bite, pull hair, and smear honey as their defensivde strategy in the tropics. central and south america

[Lar]

In article , [e-mail] says... :) send it to me e-mail

I sent the email last night via a different way than my normal email...let me know if it didn't come through.

[LeeAnne]