Day before yesterday I was in the garden preparing for some block paving sometime soon. As I paused for a minute, I realised I had a rather large insect on my shirt - just about on my belly - and wondered what it was.
Although I am not really familiar with them, I later identified it as a hornet. Yellow 'face' and mostly reddish-brown.
Was I lucky it didn't sting me? Or are they fairly unlikely to do so? I have heard that hornet stings are quite unpleasant - any experiences?
In my (limited) eperience of hornets they're not likely to sting unless they're threatened. Being on your shirt should be a threat - unless you're particularly and nastily smelly :-)
Mary
You were lucky it didn't sting you, they usually do and then release a pheronome to call for backup! If you get hit by a whole load of them you would probably end up seriously ill. I had a hornets nest under the floor in a bedroom so I sprayed them and they went absolutely wild. It took a professional company to clear them away. The most painful bite/sting I have had is from a horsefly, my hand swelled up!
No they don't!
How many people in a year in UK does that happen to?
Serves you right. You should have left them alone.
Horseflies are nothing like hornets.
Best thing with horsefly stings is to leave them alone. With livestock in the area I get a few stings. If I rub or scratch they swell and last for days. If I can force myself not to, they don't swell at all.
Peter Scott
I had a hornets nest under the floor in a bedroom so I
AIUI Hornets are a protected species. That may be overcome if they are within a home.
Thanks all. I shall be suitably cowardly if I see a swarm...
How large is "rather large"?
Could be wasps are black and yellow, the hornet a reddish-brown but still with the yellow tail but not as striped with the dark colour as a wasp.
Most insects don't sting unless provoked. Trouble is the insect and human definition of "provoked" sometimes doesn't agree and the human assumes that they suffered an unprovoked attack. Did some filming with hornets a few years back, had a few free flying in a conservatory. The wrangler was fairly definite about not breathing directly onto them as, IIRC, there is something in human breath that annoys hornets... Beautiful creatures, and wonderful low drone buzz as they fly.
So what is a wrangler in this context? I've heard the term in connection with management of horses.
Is this another film/tv industry job like gaffer, best boy, key grip and the rest of them?
No he shouldn't, he should have wiped them out. Hornets in a bedroom? Are you mad?
Focus puller.
Welcome to the Kill file ! ;-)
Andy
Is that all you have to do?
Animal handler.
Yes.
Hornets don't swarm.
Mary
Colloquial - sigificant number (greater than one) flying towards me...
Read what was written "under the floor in a bedroom" *NOT* in the bedroom.
A generic slang film/tv term for the handler that brings along creatures to be filmed.
Not likely to see a "swarm" as in thousands like bees or common wasps. Hornets live in colonys of a few hundred at summer peak size. Mind you I wouldn't want to annoy half a dozen hornets let alone a few hundred...
The wikipedia article on Hornets is pretty good. Also look at the Asian Giant Hornet page and be glad we don't have them here.
I can't think of a reason why that should happen :-) Has it ever happened to you?
Mary
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