A Bug for Dan

[Dan From Smithville]

And over this side of the Atlantic puddle we have the Blue Tit.

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More green than blue but blue sounds better

More than that. Europe has great tits.

 

[ChristineM]

And a St Andrews Cross Spider in the backyard.

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I've never seen anything like that before.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

Hey @John53, when are you going to post pictures of beavers and bees landing upside down and suddenly having a round table discussion in ancient language of why they are opposed to being blue?

 

[John53]

Hey @John53, when are you going to post pictures of beavers and bees landing upside down and suddenly having a round table discussion in ancient language of why they are opposed to being blue?

I've let the world down

 

[John53]

I've never seen anything like that before.

I've got about a million of them in the yard but not all are as good at making the cross as that one. This one can only manage a stripe.

 

[John53]

This is a small one but he's got a good cross...

 

[John53]

I removed the paper wasp nest from the letterbox on Wednesday and today (Saturday) they have already rebuilt it to 7 cells. This time I had to murder them because the postie got bitten. I didn't like doing because they are native and pollinators but they wouldn't take a hint. The old nest is still on the ground where I threw it.

 

[We Never Know]

I removed the paper wasp nest from the letterbox on Wednesday and today (Saturday) they have already rebuilt it to 7 cells. This time I had to murder them because the postie got bitten. I didn't like doing because they are native and pollinators but they wouldn't take a hint. The old nest is still on the ground where I threw it.

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I've been stung by yellow jackets, hornets, honey bees, etc but none of those compared to when I was stung by a paper wasp.

 

[stvdv]

I've been stung by yellow jackets, hornets, honey bees, etc but none of those compared to when I was stung by a paper wasp.

I've been stung by mosquitoes and bees
None compared to when stung by a woman

 

[Dan From Smithville]

I removed the paper wasp nest from the letterbox on Wednesday and today (Saturday) they have already rebuilt it to 7 cells. This time I had to murder them because the postie got bitten. I didn't like doing because they are native and pollinators but they wouldn't take a hint. The old nest is still on the ground where I threw it.

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Another great photo. Sorry to hear they were so insistent and aggressive. A group of insects I find very fascinating.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

I've been stung by yellow jackets, hornets, honey bees, etc but none of those compared to when I was stung by a paper wasp.

With the exception of hornets, I've been stung by the others. The worst sting I ever got was at the base of my spine by a velvet ant. It was like being jabbed with fire.

 

[We Never Know]

With the exception of hornets, I've been stung by the others. The worst sting I ever got was at the base of my spine by a velvet ant. It was like being jabbed with fire.

AKA the cow killer ant.
I have seen several but never stung by one.
Isn't it a wasp?(not an ant)

 

[stvdv]

I removed the paper wasp nest
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I saw this one, first time, this year. I didn't know what it was, but did look much scarier than normal bees we have here. Nice to have a name for it now, thanks. They look fragile in the middle, easy to break in half

 

[Dan From Smithville]

AKA the cow killer ant.
I have seen several but never stung by one.
Isn't it a wasp?(not an ant)

Yeah, the cow killer is one species. There are many species and often smaller in size than the cow killers. We had those in my backyard as a kid. The males have wings and fly around, but don't have stings.

Yep. A type of wasp, but looking very ant-like in the general appearance of some species.