Son just sent this pic, is it an Asian Hornet? 🐝

They found it dead on the window sill. Ring was for scale in guessing. Bit useless as a scale of course!

No, that ‘s a ring. I’ve no idea what the bug beneath it is, sorry.

That is, what’s technically called “a unit”

No, it’s a European Hornet.

This is an Asian hornet. I went to a bar in Japan that specialized in exotic food with an American guy who was into edgy stuff. The ostrich steak was excellent (although not really that exotic, to be honest), but they had some shochu with hornets in it. You’re supposed to to shots and swallow the hornet. My mate was keen to try and dared me. I managed to get mine down clean, but my mate gagged and needed a beer to wash it down. I decided to humiliate him by doing another one, which I got down, but it was a struggle and there’s no way I want to ever try another one.

https://cdn.harper-adams.ac.uk/image/blog/post/medium/2105-200512-891814.png

Thanks guys!

thols2, hipe they were dead when you had to eat them! 😑😁

Surprised nobody said Baby Robin

Standards are not being maintained!

Likely a queen wasp this time of year, unsuccessful in finding a new home before dying.

That’s not a dirty foreigner hornet, but European ones generally look distinctly orange in ‘real life’ that I’m not seeing in your pic.

Dose it with picolax then whack it with a set of piss soaked bombers.

Haha, I thought those were wood wasps (euro hornets), every days a school day.

Good news is they’re pretty chilled and don’t really bother you, I’ve disturbed them before and they seem more keen to make themselves scarce than to take people on. Also had fun chasing one around our [work porta-] cabin trying to get it out the light diffusers, again wasn’t that fussed.

European ones generally look distinctly orange in ‘real life’ that I’m not seeing in your pic.

Yeah, but the main identifier is that they are properly huge, like small biplane huge, and if one gets in to your kitchen then there won’t be space to carry your cup of tea through the room without spilling it. And you won’t want to go back for biscuits.

Ring was for scale in guessing.

Tell him he needs to use a banana or he won’t be taken seriously.

Looks like a queen common wasp to me.

Wood wasps have a long ovipositor that folk often mistake for a sting.

Wood wasps have a long ovipositor that folk often mistake for a sting.

I’ve emptied a site cabin with one. I caught it and gathered folk round, they heard the buzzing then I opened my hands, they shat themselves and ran…

What size ring is it on a standard UK ring-sizing mandrel?

Difficult to scale it without proportional accuracy.

That’s a wasp.

If that’s a Hornet then someone has an enormous ring 😉

fenderextenderFree Member
Looks like a queen common wasp to me.

Yes quite possible, the easiest way to tell is if the front of the abdomen is black or reddy/orange. Unfortunately I can’t quite make out in the OPs pic.

eta-  a pic showing the difference courtesy of https://www.naturespot.org.uk/species/hornet

different type of wasp the but the same difference in colouration on the arrowed bit

The identification now done to death I’ll move on to dealing with them if you get bothered by the asian ones which have infested this part of the world. A badmington racket is the weapon of choice. Best get them first go.

Looks like a stingy fecker. Nuke it.

Only kidding, no baby Robbins were harmed.

Wood wasps sound like they’ll drop a hatch at the back and drop out a landrover lightweight and a handfull of commados.

Years ago I was on holiday in Corfu. 8 of us were trapped in 2 apartments as there were 2 very angry hornets in the hallway and nobody had the balls to run the gauntlet to the doorway.

They are like mini-Stuka dive bombers with an attitude problem

I watched this beastie rid itself of a cobweb that had it grounded:

The noise of it at work was haunting.

As it took off it was pretty epic to see.

It was bang on 35mm long 😳

An impressive beastie (presume European Hornet) and dwarfed the average wasp.

I image a sting from one of these really funking hurts.

That’s not a hornet

It’s a European Stripey MotherFunker, a distant cousin of the ones on the Viz t-shirts

Yeah, but the main identifier is that they are properly huge, like small biplane huge,

I’d just gone to put a target face on one of the target bosses at the archery club a week or so ago, and suddenly there was a deep thrumming noise and what looked like an Apache attack chopper appeared by the side of my face! I guess it had been collecting wood shavings from the wooden frame of the boss, which is pine, and gets pretty weathered because they’re left outdoors all the time.
Made me jump, ‘cos it was so close!

I got stung on the nut sack by a European hornet! It was in the bed when I got in. I felt something crawling around down there put my hand down and it stung me on my ball sack and my finger when I pulled it off!

Hurt like hell.

‘Tell him he needs to use a banana’…

‘That’s not my ring love, that’s a banana…’

Variation on a very old joke. 😆

I got stung on the nut sack by a European hornet!

Every male who reads that will cross their legs in sympathy….

I think it’s a Norwegian blue hornet

Loads of these in FoD atm, and they hone in on any light at night. My dad had another 6 down the chimney yesterday. Nasty sods and hard enough to survive being hit by a shovel.