Allotments 4 All

Hi All,
Best place to post this?

Digging out my horse manure store, found an enormous 'wasp'. I presume it was a female waiting to cycle into it's next phase.
It was a big jobbie. Anyone got a measured pic. to judge? ;)

it was an over-wintered fertile queen. all other wasps are dead at this time of year.

I have found a couple of these crawling up my curtains before. Over an inch long. Fortunately they don't move very fast so are easy to swat!

Quote from: lewic on February 10, 2011, 07:22:25
I have found a couple of these crawling up my curtains before. Over an inch long. Fortunately they don't move very fast so are easy to swat!

Despite wasps being a predator of aphids? :-\

Definitely if you are fatally allergic to them - as I seem to be  :(   Never bothered me before 10 yrs ago when I nearly popped my clogs!

Quote from: birdsrfun on February 10, 2011, 09:25:23
Definitely if you are fatally allergic to them - as I seem to be  :(   Never bothered me before 10 yrs ago when I nearly popped my clogs!

sorry about that birdsrfun, not easy to have something like that I am sure. I just wanted to say that sometimes these creatures are of benefit!

This little lady was building her new home outside my kitchen door a few years back.  I binned it when she went away to collect more paper but it was quite sad to see her search for it when she came back.  But I could not live with it there.

Despite wasps being a predator of aphids? I don't swat them on the allotment but when something is trying to make a nest in soft furnishings, its a different matter!

I saw some enormous ones in Kefalonia, nearly two inches long with black and purple stripes. The taverna owners would put out jam for them to distract them from the diners, which seemed to work.

Quote from: lewic on February 10, 2011, 13:29:51

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Despite wasps being a predator of aphids? I don't swat them on the allotment but when something is trying to make a nest in soft furnishings, its a different matter!

I saw some enormous ones in Kefalonia, nearly two inches long with black and purple stripes. The taverna owners would put out jam for them to distract them from the diners, which seemed to work.

I invested in the Betterware Humane Bug catcher!!!! Usually it works but occasionally as the flap drops down it's the Betterware Humane bug killer ;D ;D ;D