InsectNet forum

A British example of the European Hornet I picked up at an entomological show here in the U.K.
The data for this is Windsor, Berkshire
This species has been steadily spreading North here in the U.K. & I now regularly see it in my part of North Wales. I had one in the house last year atrracted to light.
Sadly the mounted specimens fade over time. A beautiful insect when seen alive.

Interesting that you mentioned Vespa crabro comes to light. We have a hornet here in genus Provespa that is a menace at light traps. See https://www.thaibugs.com/wp-content/gal ... %20id9.jpg for a photo. We used to have a killing jar specifically to despatch all the wasps that flew in each night. They are aggressive (even biting moths on the sheet) and were rather dangerous during dismantling of the equipment if not dealt with as they came in, sometimes in large numbers.

Once in the mid 1980s one landed on my left wrist and the abdomen got trapped under my watch strap. I still have a white scar where it stung me. After a few days the area around the point I was stung turned necrotic and for a long time I had a maybe 5mm hole in my wrist which gradually healed.

My first experience with tropical hornets was in Phuket aged 19. My Thai hosts took me to an open air seafood restaurant on the seafront for lunch and these giant black wasps with a bright orange band around them flew down one by one, bit a chunk out of shrimp and fish on the plate and flew off with the food. I guess they were about 4cm long. According to https://www.thaibugs.com/?page_id=398 this should be Vespa velutina, which we also have here in Chiang Mai. Amusingly I can see a couple of Mantispid wasp mimics (Neuroptera) in photos on the page too ... they even fooled the photographer.

Adam.

Thanks for all that information Adam. Thankfully did not personally have any close encounters with tropical wasps or hornets on my yravels. It sounds like a truly hazardous occupation. Glad you recovered fully from that sting. Even though it left a scar.

Just a curious thought... I wonder if momentarily soaking them in acetone (to dispatch them) & then quickly mounting/spreading them (on a wood strip), before they begin to dry out & stiffen, & then resubmerging them in the acetone for a couple of days - weighted down) would help preserve the colors? Have to try that this coming season. I have used this acetone dispatching/quickly mounting/spreading them on wooden strips of 1/4" plywood/resoaking them again in acetone method many times for the beautiful & rare, female, yellow forms of Aeshna dragonflies; the yellow colors come out great & I end up with really nice, fully spread, exhibition specimens... just an idea.

John K.

Hi John,

Can we see some of your finished dragonflies that look so nice?

Hi Trehopr1,

I will try sometime, but not now, as I am still recovering from my left hip joint replacement & am still in considerable pain as I am still awaiting word on when I can get my other right hip done as well! Right now I am still hobbling around with the aid of two walking canes & cannot carry about glass cases or anything heavy, especially my precious insects!... in fear of dropping them... I think you can understand. My life has come to a near complete standstill since a very bad fall I had in Jan, 2021 & I hope to be better by this fall... provided I have my 2nd surgery this year sometime from spring to fall. All I can really do right now is upload 15 year old photos to this site & spend a lot of time on the internet looking at "bug" videos... & recommending some for you here!

John K.

boghaunter1 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:08 pm Hi Trehopr1,

I will try sometime, but not now, as I am still recovering from my left hip joint replacement & am still in considerable pain as I am still awaiting word on when I can get my other right hip done as well! Right now I am still hobbling around with the aid of two walking canes & cannot carry about glass cases or anything heavy, especially my precious insects!... in fear of dropping them... I think you can understand. My life has come to a near complete standstill since a very bad fall I had in Jan, 2021 & I hope to be better by this fall... provided I have my 2nd surgery this year sometime from spring to fall. All I can really do right now is upload 15 year old photos to this site & spend a lot of time on the internet looking at "bug" videos... & recommending some for you here!

John K.

Hope you are in much better shape come the autumn John. Meanwhile thanks for all your posts. Much appreciated.

Thanks so much daveuk & Trehopr1 for your compassion. Hopefully I'll be back to near normal by year's end & ready... for next year! I really enjoy finding interesting videos & unusual/rare "bug" photos to share with the like minded crowd here on the Insectnet site. I have to also Thank you daveuk & Trehopr1, in return, for all your posts of your immaculately curated & beautiful specimens... they are a delight to see!

John K.

Hi John K,

Very sorry to hear of your present health concerns. I hope you are able to adapt and overcome your present situation.

Thank you very much for posting all the neat photos and fascinating videos for everyone here to enjoy.

Best wishes....
Trehopr1

Adam mentions wasps coming to his light, I sometimes find a bald faced hornet at my UV light, but not in numbers. My greatest wasp threat is bald faced hornets and yellow jackets coming to my bait traps. I have a couple of Bioquip bait traps that I bought for catocala, but find they are far more effective in the daytime for polygonia. The problem is removing the polygonia from the trap without getting stung. The solution I came up with is to put acetone in a spray bottle and spray the wasps through the screen without hitting the polygonia. It usually works and I end up with wasp bodies in and around the bait, but haven't been stung yet.

I love that idea for taking care of wasps in the trap !

Improvise, adapt, overcome --- the Marines "motto"....