What type of insect is this?

Hambone

Senior Member
I've seen these all my life but have never known exactly what they were.

Do you know?
 

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rapid fire

Senior Member
I have always thought that they looked like a honey bee, but I don't know that is what it is. They always love my holly bush.
 

coon dawg

GONetwork Member
English Hornet

....bad tempers, will pursue you at night.........cavity dwellers, live mostly in hollows in trees.........they've nailed me more than a few times...... :).......folks, that's a QUARTER layin' there. ;)
 
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Hambone

Senior Member
Thanks Coon Dawg, I thought I'd heard somebody say one time that they were a hornet but I wasn't sure. Guys, this thing is huge (I know you can't tell it from the pic) but it dwarfs a honey bee. At least 3X the size of a honey bee with an elongated body. I found it inside the house and it took several whacks to get it with a fly swatter. Darn intimidating!

If those bad boys sting, I want no part of 'em!
 

coon dawg

GONetwork Member
Ham.......

they are VERY aggressive.........you get near their cavity, day or night, you're in a world of hurt........ :( :)
 

No. GA. Mt. Man

Gone But Not Forgotten
Onegot Into Our House A Few Years Ago And I Got Up In The Middle Of The Night To Go To The Bathroom And Stepped On It. I Woke Everybody Up. The Place Where It Stung Me Actually Bled.
 

matthewsman

Senior Member
hey coon dawg

Is that what we refer to as a news bee around here? he hovers around and looks at you,goes away and comes back?
 

rapid fire

Senior Member
I just glanced at the picture and thought it was a dime. Different thing at my house. It is not the same as a good news bee. I have never heard of a goodnews bee stinging.
 

Racor

Senior Member
yep from what I can tell it looks like a hornet to me.

When I was 12-13 I stepped on a stick which in turn broke open a nest of those darn things (we called em sand-hornets). I had 4-5 caught in my hair, two up my shirt three down my pants and one in the middle of my back. My friend took the blunt end of an axe and wacked away! I was hurting real bad! Hmmm at least he said there were some in my hair! Hmmm

So I'm guessing some type of hornet.
 

rip18

Senior Member
Mathewsman -

Nope the "news bee" or "good news bee" is really a fly that mimics a striped wasp or hornet. It pretends to be a big bad wasp so critters will leave it alone, but it ain't nothing but a little old fly.
 

coon dawg

GONetwork Member
Donnie.......

no, these rascals don't just look at ya.lol...........we call news bees those black carpenter bees that drill the holes in your wood??? :huh: .............ps-one drilled a hole in my rake handle, and I didn't know it.........they WILL hurt ya if ya put your hand over their hole.lol :D :D
 

Woodsman

Senior Member
Bad news for sure. :hair: We call them Russian Hornets where I from. See them around weeping scares on Oak trees a lot.
 

rip18

Senior Member
Coondawg -

What we call the "good news bee" down here is a Dipteran. It is a fly that mimics a bee, but doesn't sting. It doesn't excavate a nest cavity in wood either.

What we call carpenter bees are Hymenopterans that do sting and do excavate nest cavities in wood.


Just to clarify, the orginal thread topic does refer to an english or european hornet that will aggressively sting the tar out of you.
 

coon dawg

GONetwork Member
gotchya.......

are the news bees also sometime reffered to as "sweat bees".or is that something totally different.........sorta looks like a miniature yellow jacket whose wings got turned sideways? :)
 

rip18

Senior Member
I haven't ever heard the "good news bees" called sweat bees. I did a quick search for "good news bees" on the internet to get a picture - they look like a 1/2 to 3/4 size version of a hornet or a yellow jacket on steroids. Body shape is more flylike, abdomen somewhat rounded, but pointed like a wasp. Head is different - eyes bigger than wasp/hornet & antennae different. Wing pattern is different, but really hard to see since you actually see them stop anywhere. Mostly they hover around like a super-quick helicopter/hummingbird.
 
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