# Big red/orange wasps?



## Back2class

What the heck are these things. They are bigger than the average wasp and kind of bright orange/red. Got stung by one today and now my arm is swelled up and hurts like heck. 
Never saw these little devils untill I moved to GA.


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## Jhunt

Where'd you move from?


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## fussyray

Welcome to Ga.


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## Back2class

RI. 
Thats the little deamon that got me!


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## Backlasher82

I'll take 10 red wasp stings before 1 white faced hornet sting!

As far as that goes, give me 2 red wasps before a yellow jacket.


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## Bruz

Order of hurt from things that fly and sting in Georgia......

1)Japanese Hornet
2)Hornet
3)Red Wasp
4)Black Wasp
5)Yellow Jacket (usually multiples)
6)Honey Bee
7)Sand Fly
8)Horse Fly
9) Skeeter

Robert


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## Back2class

Backlasher82 said:


> I'll take 10 red wasp stings before 1 white faced hornet sting!
> 
> As far as that goes, give me 2 red wasps before a yellow jacket.



Got a white faced hornet sting in the eye and eyelid when I was a kid.  Other than location, I say this thing is worse.


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## Bruz

Back2class said:


> Got a white faced hornet sting in the eye and eyelid when I was a kid.  Other than location, I say this thing is worse.



B2C,

I hate to disagree but that Hornet must have only landed a glancing blow. I can take a red wasp and hold it and let it sting me without flinching.......The last Hornet that got me made me scream like a girl.......I was dating my wife at the time and she still brings that one up every now and then.......My hand swelled to the size of a cantaloupe


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## ccbiggz

When I was a kid I shot a red wasp nest under a bridge with a BB gun from probably 100' away. I swear those things met the BB halfway and proceeded to sting the mess out of me.

Anybody ever been stung by a cow killer ant? They call them an ant but its actually a wasp without wings. I've heard they are extremely painful. They look menacing.


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## ccbiggz

When I was a kid I shot a red wasp nest under a bridge with a BB gun from probably 100' away. I swear those things met the BB halfway and proceeded to sting the mess out of me.

Anybody ever been stung by a cow killer ant? They call them an ant but its actually a wasp without wings. I've heard they are extremely painful. They look menacing.


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## Gav-n-Tn

Back2class said:


> What the heck are these things. They are bigger than the average wasp and kind of bright orange/red. Got stung by one today and now my arm is swelled up and hurts like heck.
> Never saw these little devils untill I moved to GA.



In the South that's called a red warsper.


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## dpoole

bumblee bees you left them out I aint talking about carpenter bees either.


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## Nicodemus

Ya`ll left out guinea wasps, but they ain`t too bad. Hornets hurt the most to me with bumblebees and cowkillers a close second.


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## Capt Quirk

We have the Cow Killers down here, never heard they were wasps before though. Also have Carpenter Ants, got a nasty bite in the front to hold on to you while they sting you from the rear. What about scorpions and centipedes?


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## Miguel Cervantes

Nicodemus said:


> Ya`ll left out guinea wasps, but they ain`t too bad. Hornets hurt the most to me with bumblebees and cowkillers a close second.


 
Don't know there Nic. I got stung by a guinea wasp right before we went on our cruise. It got me on top of the foot right on a vein and I tried everything, chewin baccy, hydrocortizone, etc etc and nothing would take the fire out. Then it felt just like my foot was broke for the next four days before it let up.

Mean little devils I tell ya'.


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## germag

Bruz said:


> Order of hurt from things that fly and sting in Georgia......
> 
> 1)Japanese Hornet
> 2)Hornet
> 3)Red Wasp
> 4)Black Wasp
> 5)Yellow Jacket (usually multiples)
> 6)Honey Bee
> 7)Sand Fly
> 8)Horse Fly
> 9) Skeeter
> 
> Robert



Bruz,

I don't think there are any Japanese hornets (_Vespa mandarina_) in the U.S.....at least I hope not. Those things are 2" of pure evil. I think you may be thinking of the European hornet (_V. crabro_)....it a big brown/yellow hornet that is pretty common, especially in North Georgia. They aren't nearly as aggressive nor the sting as dangerous as a Japanese hornet, in fact probably not as dangerous as our native Bald-faced hornet (_Dolichovespula maculata_) which really isn't a hornet at all, but more closely related to Yellow Jackets.


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## Smokey

scooter1 said:


> Don't know there Nic. I got stung by a guinea wasp right before we went on our cruise. It got me on top of the foot right on a vein and *I tried everything, chewin baccy*, hydrocortizone, etc etc and nothing would take the fire out. Then it felt just like my foot was broke for the next four days before it let up.
> 
> Mean little devils I tell ya'.



Boy-howdy did that ever bring back some memories.  Whenever I got stung (which was a lot) my great-grandmaw would dig in her mouth and pull out a big ole gooey glob of snuff and slather all over the sting site.


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## Cornelia_Hiker

Also leaving out "deer flies." That's what I've always heard them called. They're only in the woods. Biting deer flies. They buzz around your head and follow you down the trail. They love to be swatted at. Big game to them. They will follow you until you either kill them or outrun them. Actually bite you to get at your blood. 

So they're not really in the sting category, but they are in the "flying insect that will hurt you" category.

Honey and other pollenator bees may stay. All others must die


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## Slingblade

Next time ya'll get stung, get you a dab a gasoline on your finger and put it on the sting.  You'll never use spit or meat tenderizer again.


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## Bodab1974

If I am not mistaken aren't those also called Mahogany Wasps?   I know they are called red wasps  and I KNOW they hurt like crap when they sting you


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## Backlasher82

Back2class said:


> Got a white faced hornet sting in the eye and eyelid when I was a kid.  Other than location, I say this thing is worse.



Red wasps built a nest in my boat trailer tongue as I found out when hooking up the other day. One of them was buzzing around me and I just swatted at him with my hand like a fly. Got done hooking up and looked down and he was on the back of my hand giving me all he was worth. Had a little red bump and some itching but nothing bad.

If I see a white faced hornet I run and hide in the house!


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## Backlasher82

ccbiggz said:


> Anybody ever been stung by a cow killer ant? They call them an ant but its actually a wasp without wings. I've heard they are extremely painful. They look menacing.



Are those bright red, about 1/2"-3/4" long? We called them fire ants when I was a kid because they would really light you up!

I did a search a while back and I think the pics I found of them called them red velvet wasps or something similar.
Looked like ants to me. No wings, crawling on the ground.
Whatever you call them, if they sting you once you'll keep a close eye out and give them a wide berth from then on!


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## Bruz

germag said:


> Bruz,
> 
> I don't think there are any Japanese hornets (_Vespa mandarina_) in the U.S.....at least I hope not. Those things are 2" of pure evil. I think you may be thinking of the European hornet (_V. crabro_)....it a big brown/yellow hornet that is pretty common, especially in North Georgia. They aren't nearly as aggressive nor the sting as dangerous as a Japanese hornet, in fact probably not as dangerous as our native Bald-faced hornet (_Dolichovespula maculata_) which really isn't a hornet at all, but more closely related to Yellow Jackets.



Germag,

You're correct.....The European Hornet.


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## Backlasher82

dpoole said:


> bumblee bees you left them out I aint talking about carpenter bees either.



When I was a kid we used to catch bumblebees and throw them in those big yellow/black garden spider webs to watch the spiders wrap 'em up. The bumblebees were slow and even if you got popped it wasn't bad.

But then again, we would find yellowjacket nests and see who was brave and quick enough to cap it off with an empty mayonnaise jar, then start looking for the other entrance.

The kid who capped the second entrance had to be real brave because they were real unhappy about the front door being slammed shut on them.


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## germag

Bruz said:


> Germag,
> 
> You're correct.....The European Hornet.



I guess if he stings you, it doesn't really much matter where his great,great,great,great great, grandpappy came from, does it?


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## Bruz

germag said:


> I guess if he stings you, it doesn't really much matter where his great,great,great,great great, grandpappy came from, does it?



No it doesn't....I've only encountered them at the cabin in Blue Ridge....They must not like South Ga.....Thank goodness......I would hate to hit some of them in a thicket deep in a swamp.

The last time I hit a hornet's nest I was easing along the edge of a swampy bottom in the kind of mud where you think it will pull your boots off any second and looking down for snakes..........Well I hit a hornets nest hanging over the water at about head height

Robert


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## Capt Quirk

I saw a show about those Japanese Wasps, and they really are killers. I would rather deal with snakes.


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## germag

Bruz said:


> No it doesn't....I've only encountered them at the cabin in Blue Ridge....They must not like South Ga.....Thank goodness......I would hate to hit some of them in a thicket deep in a swamp.
> 
> The last time I hit a hornet's nest I was easing along the edge of a swampy bottom in the kind of mud where you think it will pull your boots off any second and looking down for snakes..........Well I hit a hornets nest hanging over the water at about head height
> 
> Robert



I have to carry an Epipen for them. Yellow Jackets and Bald-faced Hornets do a number on me. They are very, very closely related and the venom is very similar. The European Hornet is bigger, but not as prone to attack and sting....I don't know if I react to that venom or not. I've never been stung by one and I've never been tested.


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## bat

Yellow fly could be added to the list as well, they can bite fairly good.  
Those big red wasps love to build nests in bushes in fish ponds...  never never disturb them if you can.  Gators want even surface if you get those mad.   

While we are talking about wasp, can anybody tell me what these jokers are in this picture.  I can go out to the shed at night and switch on the light and there will be hundreds of these under my buglight.  They must be feeding on the dead bugs when they fall to the ground.  As soon as the light comes on they run 90 mph to hide.  Kind of shiney on their backs, hard to tell in this picture.  About the size of a regular wasp but evidently will not bite or sting you.  I walk all over them and they just try to run out of the way.  What are they?


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## Backlasher82

Japanese beetle?


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## Slingblade

Tiger beetle or a ground beetle one.


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## coolbreezeroho

Got stung by a big black wasp right on the tip of the left shoulder blade. Went straight to my heart. From there to my whole body.....Three shots from the doctor and 6 hours later I went home .....CBR


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## bat

thanks, it looks very similiar to the "tetracha Carolina or Viginica" version of the tiger beetle that I found using a search on them.


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## TJay

scooter1 said:


> Don't know there Nic. I got stung by a guinea wasp right before we went on our cruise. It got me on top of the foot right on a vein and I tried everything, chewin baccy, hydrocortizone, etc etc and nothing would take the fire out. Then it felt just like my foot was broke for the next four days before it let up.
> 
> Mean little devils I tell ya'.



I'll second that.  I got stung on the tip of my pinkie finger on the 4th and it thobbed for a good 3 1/2 hours or so.  Finger swelled up and turned red.  Them guineas met their maker shortly thereafter.


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## Rednec

After pulling my bush hog over yellow jackets nest, 3 hit me. Went to my cubbard, got apple cider vinegar, it will help some stings...


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## abrannon

I have been stung or bit by everything listed and none of it compares to them darn fuzzy catipilers that sting.

I must be lucky because wasp, bee and hornet stings only leave a spot on me and burn/sting for a little bit.  Even that catapiler did not leave a mark. Absolutly no swelling.

We used to run set hooks on the creeks, and every now and then when you would pull up to an up stream hook at night we would grab limbs of the surrounding bushes and pull the boat up to the hook.  Every once in a while we would find a red wasp nest the hard way.  They get real mad when you grab thier nest.

Guinee wasp get even madder when you chop thier nest in half with a hedge trimmer.  I am luck I guess only two insects so far leave a mark on me, Red Bugs and Fleas.  I get the same itchy red bump from both.


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## Seth carter

yellow jackets hurt


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## Seth carter

what does a black wasp look like


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## whiterock116

I guess we can just be glad that we don't have any of those japanese giant hornets...saw a special on those monsters..geezzzzz  deadly!


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## mikelogg

As I have gotten older (and wiser) I know to look under and around anything that I pick up or move in the summer.


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