Black wasps????

[happyhippy]

Hi everyone,I noticed a couple of weeks ago some wasps looking insects flying around under my lounge window.Did'nt think too much of it,but today noticed more,and it looks like they have dug little holes in the grass(very visible with small piles of soil outside the holes,holes are about pencil width).I took a closer look at the insects and they look like black wasps???IS that possible?They don't seem to have any stripes on their bodies,just black?I've never seen them before so I was hoping someone might know?Thanks x

[MKG]

There are a fair old number of black (or at least dark) wasps. Where are you? If you're in the north of England, you shouldn't see any big ones. In fact, you shouldn't see big ones in the south either, but all kinds of things are crossing the channel lately.

Mike

[Susie]

I haven't seen a black wasp but I just had to hijack your thread to say that yesterday I saw a bee which was as big as a robin.

[pelmetman]

Yes you can get black wasps not that I've ever seen one and didn't realise they were in the UK.

Susie we have some really big bumble bees around at the moment to, even seen a couple of big wasps this week.

Sue

[MKG]

I haven't seen a black wasp but I just had to hijack your thread to say that yesterday I saw a bee which was as big as a robin.

And I've seen a slug as big as a pig!!!



Mike

[Nomada]

I belong to a group that studies them, there are over 500 species of bees ants and wasps in the UK, lots of them are dark. Are they very small? Are they shiny or covered in silver hairs? Here are the first kinds that spring to my mind...

http://www.bwars.com/Andrena_barbilabris.htm

This one is a solitary bee, we've got loads of them around, the males are dark and hover around looking for female's nests (little mound like a tiny mole hill with a hole) and you can see them go in and out of them sometimes.

http://www.bwars.com/pompilus_cinereus.htm

This one's a wasp. Might be a bit early for these ones. there are lots that are similar. Is your garden very sandy? They move in a twitchy kind of way and kill spiders in a very nasty way.

if it's really tiny, it could be a Lasioglosum or a Halictus bee, or there are lots of other little wasps, have a look in the photies in the gallery, lot's of pretties there!

If you can get a photo I might be able to tell you, although maybe not down to species (sometimes have to look at their private bits down a microscope to ID to species ). If there is any other colour than black at all that's also helpful because some have white faces, red bits on their abdomens, look a bit greenish in the right light and so on.

[happyhippy]

Mike I'm in Wiltshire!Nomada the pompillus one looks pretty much like it.Its not solitary though,and I guess there was approx 15 of them flying around.I did see one actually land on a spiders web and it looked like it was eating another dead insect???Will they sting me?Bit worried as its right near the front door and if one gets in,I'm outta here!

[MKG]

Here's some interesting reading for you ...

http://www.natureconservationimaging.co ... _wasps.htm

Unfortunately, they do apparently sting - quite heftily.

Mike

[Nomada]

Sorry, they do sting and by all accounts quite painfully...that sting needs to be able to paralyse spiders...but they're not very aggressive towards people I find. I've picked them out of nets with no problems. They're very likely to just fly right away from you if you go too close, in fact they're bloody hard to get near to catch. You'd only have a problem if you tried to grab hold of one. They might nest quite close together but not in a hive type set up like 'ordinary' wasps.

[happyhippy]

Hi all,I've managed to have a closer look at those wasps today.Initially I thought they were black all over.Today I noticed that by their heads(on top)they have a white area???They also seem to be hovering very low level,close to their "homes"(holes in the ground).There also seems to be more of them.Is there any way to remove them?Normally I would leave things like this well alone,and I certainly don't want to harm them but they are very very close to the front door,and I don't want to end up with a huge swarm of them???My OH is buying some batteries for the camera today so hopefully I will be able to post a pic soon.

[Nomada]

I doubt you could do it without harming them sorry. You'd have to get rid of the habitat that is attactive to them or set up somewhere else with sandy soil to attract them elsewhere. However, if they have a bit of white on their face I think they might be a totally different kind of bee that is probably quite safe. In fact, I would bet money it's some kind of mining bee. Those other wasps spend most of thier time crawling along the ground looking all twitchy and only fly when disturbed. If these ones hover around then it's likely a bee is what they'll bee. They wont swarm althouhg I can see why you'd worry about having to shoo one out of your home. What's there is probably all there is as they should pretty much all be out now with this warm weather and will probably all be gone very soon (they don't live very long at all, and once they have nests constructed the clock is ticking for them). Are they more or less than a centrimetre long?

[MKG]

I think we need that pic. Mining bees look like bees to me but I'm no expert.

Mike

[happyhippy]

Update on wasps!Sunday night we had a visit from the neighbour,asking us if we had noticed the wasps "problem".I said I was waiting for OH to post pics on a forum(this one to identify)and would decide what to do within a couple of days?Neighbour replied "We called around to see you last night,you were'nt in,so we poured boiling water and salt down the holes,and that should do the trick! Can't tell you how angry we were!Really disappointed they took that form of action and without asking us first,makes my blood boil!Yes I was concerned about the wasps near my front door but not to the point of killing them.I was thinking more of gently distracting them or relocating,now we don't even have that option.Thanks neighbours....NOT!!!

[Nomada]

I'd have to knock them out if they were my neighbours! Aww, don't worry, I'm sure they were a common species of mining bee by the sounds of the holes, and hopefully they would have went quick if they were at home. In fact if they were out at the time they might have gone to excavate nests elsewhere. Sorry they did that, they must have thought they were being helpful!

[happyhippy]

Yeah apparently they had the same problem,but apart from killing the wasps,they could of atleast checked with us first!!! In December we had a good fall of snow.My front garden was pristine with untouched snow?Said to OH at the time that we should take some pics to send off back to Oz to show family?He agreed,later that day we returned home to find all of our pristine untouched snow had been collected off our garden by next doors kids,and what was'nt collected had been trampled on.For one they are trespassing,and secondly its only good manners to ask first right?Had they of asked I would of gladly obliged AFTER having the chance to take some pics! Guess for some folk good manners have gone out the window!