A week ago last Saturday I was out mowing grass near the azaleas in the back yard, and got stung by three Yellowjacket bees.The sting sites didn't swell as large as a dime, and by the next day didn't even itch.
Last Saturday Last Saturday, I was watering the Azaleas, and was again attacked. This time only one yellowjacket managed to sing me.
However, this time my right arm swelled from finger tip to elbow. I've been taking Benadryl for the discomfort, and the swelling is finally starting to go down.
So, why didn't I have a reaction to the first attacks, but did have a strong reaction to the second attack?
Last Saturday Last Saturday, I was watering the Azaleas, and was again attacked. This time only one yellowjacket managed to sing me.
However, this time my right arm swelled from finger tip to elbow. I've been taking Benadryl for the discomfort, and the swelling is finally starting to go down.
So, why didn't I have a reaction to the first attacks, but did have a strong reaction to the second attack?
That's actually pretty common in allergic reactions; the first exposure sensitizes you. Protip: always carry an epi pen with you when you're doing outdoor things. You don't want to have a breathing interruption!
Not wasps, but yellowjackets. I caught one in a trap to verify it.
yea, the Epi pen is in the kitchen cabinet. I take it with me in the woods.
I've been stung by yellowjackets in the past with varied reactions. Worst one was getting stung once in the ankle, and ended up hospitalized when I was about 17.
yea, the Epi pen is in the kitchen cabinet. I take it with me in the woods.
I've been stung by yellowjackets in the past with varied reactions. Worst one was getting stung once in the ankle, and ended up hospitalized when I was about 17.
I've been repeatedly informed that yellowjacket is the north-american name given to certain types of wasps.
Just googled images for yellowjacket and all I could see was pages and pages of pictures of wasps.
They've got a nasty sting though and unlike bees they can sting you more than once.
Like their close relatives bees and ants they live in colonies of up to a few thousand individuals.
But worst of all they do use scent markers on their victims which spur other wasps to sting as well.
Wasps feed on nectar, fruit, other insects and, in Bavaria at least, beer.
Just googled images for yellowjacket and all I could see was pages and pages of pictures of wasps.
They've got a nasty sting though and unlike bees they can sting you more than once.
Like their close relatives bees and ants they live in colonies of up to a few thousand individuals.
But worst of all they do use scent markers on their victims which spur other wasps to sting as well.
Wasps feed on nectar, fruit, other insects and, in Bavaria at least, beer.
Yup, I stand corrected. I always thought they were a bee of sort, but I checked and they are indeed wasps of the genera Vespula maculifrons (Eastern Yellowjacket).
It could always be worse.
Over here we've got hornets which look pretty much the same as yellowjackets but are nearly twice as long, 10x the weight and much more aggressive.
To make matters worse they are a protected species and killing them or destroying their hives carries a fine of up to €50 000!
Luckily that also means that they are quite rare and I have only come across hornets twice in my life.
Once on a school trip when one of my class mates saw a nest high up in a tree. He threw a stone at it which broke off part of the nest. Next thing we knew he was screaming in pain and had gotten stung five times.
The other time one flew into our car on the motorway so we had to stop on the hard shoulder and vacated the car post haste. Luckily no one got stung that time.
Over here we've got hornets which look pretty much the same as yellowjackets but are nearly twice as long, 10x the weight and much more aggressive.
To make matters worse they are a protected species and killing them or destroying their hives carries a fine of up to €50 000!
Luckily that also means that they are quite rare and I have only come across hornets twice in my life.
Once on a school trip when one of my class mates saw a nest high up in a tree. He threw a stone at it which broke off part of the nest. Next thing we knew he was screaming in pain and had gotten stung five times.
The other time one flew into our car on the motorway so we had to stop on the hard shoulder and vacated the car post haste. Luckily no one got stung that time.
Around here we have red wasps, Polistes carolina, also called paper wasps because of their nest. They are very aggressive protecting that nest, too.
Nah, you just have to go fast enough. ;-)
But seriously full face helmets are a good idea anyway.
Around here (St Louis, Mo) there is an especially evil and obnoxious variant of that critter. Their colonies build nests in the ground - supposedly where wood is rotting underground (old tree stumps, fence posts, turned-under mulch, decaying tie walls, etc) but I've encountered them in the middle of open yards with no apparent wood refuse nearby.
They are very aggressive and will come out in droves to attack people and pets who walk as much as 15 - 20 feet from their burrows. I suspect they sense the vibrations transmitted through the ground.
I know it sounds eco-unfriendly but I don't think there's any way to co-exist with them. I've found that liberally dusting the entrance and exit tunnels with a strong insecticide powder is only moderately effective - the entrance and exit tunnels may be scattered over a wider area than you expect, and several treatments may be necessary. A less toxic, more exciting, alternative involves waiting until after dark when they reduce their activity level, bringing 2 or 3 gallons of water to a rolling boil in a large pot or canner, and pre-planning a withdrawl route where you can run like hell without tripping over something in the dark. Unlike carbaryl, the boiling water (and steam) seems to find its way to all levels of the colony without requiring an insect to carry it there.
Dale
There's several posters on Youtube describing taking castings of ant nests using molten aluminum (one very pointedly takes castings of fire ant nests on neighbor's property as a favor). Can't say as I blame him - fire for fire....
This sounds like a worthwhile project for someone with protective clothing willing to brave the initial onslaught of yellowjacket warriors while the aluminum does its thing. The ant nest castings are fascinating sculptures, revealing species-specific variations in nest organization - I wonder what an underground yellowjacket nest would reveal?
This sounds like a worthwhile project for someone with protective clothing willing to brave the initial onslaught of yellowjacket warriors while the aluminum does its thing. The ant nest castings are fascinating sculptures, revealing species-specific variations in nest organization - I wonder what an underground yellowjacket nest would reveal?
- Status
- Not open for further replies.