Discussion
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of wasps at all - somehow in my 46 years I've managed to avoid being stung which I put down to my superior hand flapping/running away skills 
However, they do serve a really useful purpose by controlling other pests. In the last couple of years I've noticed that we haven't had many wasps at all which suggests something is out of balance.
However, they do serve a really useful purpose by controlling other pests. In the last couple of years I've noticed that we haven't had many wasps at all which suggests something is out of balance.
Working in a kitchen one summer, we'd often hear the crack of an insect being dealt with by the blue-lit fly zapper. Usually they'd fly in, hit the bars and then drop in one smooth motion.
However, this one time I heard a constant load crackle - the kind of noise you get in films when in a mad scientists lab - and I turned round to see a f
k off massive hornet holding on to the metal bars essentially trying to "take it" until the zapper gave out. Fortunately the zapper won in the end and a smouldering dead hornet eventually landed with a thump in the bottom tray. The stench of burning hornet was disgusting but oddly satisfying.
I can't stand the things. Them and wasps. Hate them.
However, this one time I heard a constant load crackle - the kind of noise you get in films when in a mad scientists lab - and I turned round to see a f
k off massive hornet holding on to the metal bars essentially trying to "take it" until the zapper gave out. Fortunately the zapper won in the end and a smouldering dead hornet eventually landed with a thump in the bottom tray. The stench of burning hornet was disgusting but oddly satisfying.I can't stand the things. Them and wasps. Hate them.
Jezzerh said:
JFC where do you live? Just so I know where not to move to.
Oxfordshire. And I resent paying sky high council tax only to have to put up with aggressive immigrant (possibly Albanian) mutant wasp type things taking over my house. What ever happened to the good old-fashioned British bumblebee?Jesus...the face on it.
I think Saxondale summed up wasps (and therefore hornets) perfectly...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88PFP3wtGzY
I think Saxondale summed up wasps (and therefore hornets) perfectly...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88PFP3wtGzY
Defcon5 said:
I thought it was actually on your hand for a moment then.
It made me feel sick
I've got a few photos somewhere of me feeding hornets bits of apple and them crawling about on my hand. They're really not aggressive at all and are quite beautfiul and impressive things really.It made me feel sick
Japveesix said:
I've got a few photos somewhere of me feeding hornets bits of apple and them crawling about on my hand. They're really not aggressive at all and are quite beautfiul and impressive things really.
Yes, I stood next to the bush they were grabbing the bees from with my camcorder on a tripod. The hornets were flying around and past me and I never felt worried. Nothing like wasps which seem to go out of their way to be confrontational /aggressive. Surprised that this thread has no mention of the Japanese Giant Hornet. Borrowed from Wikipedia:
"The Japanese giant hornet is large and can be very aggressive if provoked. It has a venom which is injected by the 6.25 mm-long stinger (my emphasis) and attacks the nervous system and damages tissues of its victims."
Look them up on Google images. They're just wrong and clear confirmation that there is no God. Only evolution could think these were a good idea:
"The Japanese giant hornet is large and can be very aggressive if provoked. It has a venom which is injected by the 6.25 mm-long stinger (my emphasis) and attacks the nervous system and damages tissues of its victims."
Look them up on Google images. They're just wrong and clear confirmation that there is no God. Only evolution could think these were a good idea:
I absolutely hate wasps, hornets, bees etc.
I was on holiday in Greece once, and a pesky hornet (or similar) was hanging round our table. The waiter disposed of it but slamming a book style menu closed with said flying pesk inside it.
On recounting the tale to my Gran some time later, re-enacting the waiter's actions using a loud clap of my hands, she nearly had a heart attack!
See, they really don't have any useful purpose for us humans. I'd rather live with whatever they supposedly kill/control
I was on holiday in Greece once, and a pesky hornet (or similar) was hanging round our table. The waiter disposed of it but slamming a book style menu closed with said flying pesk inside it.
On recounting the tale to my Gran some time later, re-enacting the waiter's actions using a loud clap of my hands, she nearly had a heart attack!
See, they really don't have any useful purpose for us humans. I'd rather live with whatever they supposedly kill/control
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