June 29th, 2006
great black wasps and other fearsome beasts
* Yes, second post for today, but we’ve got a long week-end coming up and I may be skipping out of here quite a bit over the next 3 or 4 days. This will be something to fill the gap ~
A new feature has been added to Pbase, the host where I’ve maintained online galleries of my nature photography since October 2002. It’s now possible to see which of your photos and galleries have been the most popular and received the most views over the previous 30 days. As it turns out, at the moment, my Wasps & Hornets gallery is at the top of the heap. In just the past 3 days, the gallery has received over 650 views. Of individual photos, the most popular of all seems to be this Great Black Wasp (Sphex pennsylvanicus), which generally gets looked at about 20 times a day.
Also of some interest is that the Wasps & Hornet gallery receives quite a few comments compared to most of my other insect galleries. Usually, the comment includes a description of a wasp, bee, or hornet, and a request for a possible identification. Here are a few examples:
* I am trying to ID a wasp or hornet. They are large ( appx. 2 inches ), brilliant yellow, no black, wings are yellow. They constantly land in my pool and fly away. I have viewed many sites with many photos, but none of what I am looking for. Can you point me in the right direction? I live in Phoenix AZ if that helps. – Dwayne
* hi there, im trying to identy a wasp that is deep golden in colr about an inch or longer ugly looking thing, leaves a big red spot where sting is and leaves a very big red area around it , i veiwed your pics but didnt see anything like it,plz e-mail me if u have pics or send me to a site that may have it , ty very much for your time. – Debra
* I am trying to find out about a very large hornet or wasp They are in the Jacksonville Fl. area and are the largest thing I have ever seen They are mostly black with a little brown on the body the heads and stingers are almost the size of a q-tip point. They sting with a lot of intensitiy.. Never saw anything like this. – Carole
* I’ve been havin a heck of a time identifying a colony of wasps that moved into our neighbourhood. These guys are really cool. Thing is that their base of operations seems to be inside a crack in the siding and roof of the house. They are all jet black, approx. 2 – 2.5 cm in length, long segmented bodies and have no hair. Their wings are also black. They are pretty much chasing other yellow and black wasps away from their nests and have a territory spanning at least 3 backyards.
Last night, I received a particularly interesting comment posted beneath the Great Black Wasp photo (go to the page and scroll down to the comment posted by Bonnie). Sounds like this encounter has all the makings of a Hitchcock movie.