I done rustled up me a hornet's nest. No literally!

[Soocom1]

Its pic heavy.

I was raking up some garbage when these guys came out. Got stung on the back by one of them.

 

[Winona]

Nothing to mess with there!

I was mowing my horse pasture and for some reason didn’t finish a row. Guess I get bored and mow Helter skelter. When I came back to that row I could see the bees swarming and drove away. If I had originally finished the row I most likely would have had some angry ground bees after me!

 

[tirediron]

Wasps.... the donkey-holes of the insect world. Neat set, glad that it was only one sting!

 

[Original katomi]

Nasty. Nice pics brave you going back with camera.
I photographed some bees, all was ok until the bleep of the camera upset them. Time to call it a day

 

[Flying Panda]

Nice closeups. Glad you only got hit once because, although these guys may be small, there stings are very painful. We once lived in an A-framed house on the side of a mountain in Virginia and the backyard had two very large underground nest of these little guys. One year a black bear dug them up. It is amazing how large and deep their nest can get.

 

[K9Kirk]

Nice set. Good thing you're not allergic.

 

[Jeff G]

Nice shots, we have been battling wasps from the neighbors yard, they have a nest on the back side of the fence where our trashcans go, always have to be careful. Sorry they got you, I know it smarts.

 

[smoke665]

Around here they're called ground digging yellow jackets, but no matter the name, they're not to be trifled with. Nice set, assuming you went back with a really looooonnnnnng lens. LOL

 

[Soocom1]

Being the connected soul that I am I dont seek to harm anything or anyone withour purpose.

Unfortunately the little buggers got stirred up a bit by the wooflers who saw an opportunity to play with bugs. I had to distroy the nest opening last night.
They are God's creatures and I felt sorrow for doing it. But they danger was too high.

They prob. have an opening somewhere else and I hope its some where safe.

 

[Photo Lady]

Not something i want to see....except in your photos

 

[Jeff G]

I am the same way, I try not to disturb any critters unless they are a direct threat to myself, family or pets. We had a bee hive under our shed in the back yard and had a real hard time finding someone who would move it rather than just destroy them. Finally found an amateur bee keeper was was willing to take on the job.

 

[RVT1K]

Its a bit of a long story but hornets made a nest in the attic and actually chewed through the sheetrock in the ceiling of the bedroom.

When they (quite unexpectedly) broke through, there was a protracted battle between them, armed with stingers, and I armed with my T-shirt and and absolute refusal to give ground. I eventually beat them back enough to cover the hole with a paper plate sealed with RTV.

I got stung a bunch but I called in reinforcements in the form of a professional exterminator.

They all died....

 

[Irishwhistler]

Nice set ! Those are not hornets and not bees, they are wasps (Vespidae) and unlike bees, they have the ability to sting more than one time. Nasty buggers that most often nest in the ground, but they can build above ground nests as well. Whence disturbed, they are most tenacious and will readily attack the offender. Their stings are quite painful and can cause anaphylaxis in some folks which can be fatal. Their colonies can be quite large and as others have noted, they are nothing to mess with.

Mike

 

[RVT1K]

We call them yellow jackets and they are the ones I battled in the bedroom.

I've had countless encounters since childhood and, lucky for me, I'm not very sensitive to the venom. It will sting for a bit but nothing more than that.

 

[Soocom1]

Hornets and wasps are actually part of the same family, different genus.

irregardless, I am fascinated by them and they were rather docile when i shot the photos.
(70-200mm F4 L lens) at 200mm!

I dont distroy living things simply because they are a creepy crawly.
in fact I usually just put bugs outside when found.

But we have a cheweenie and a large mutt. they love to play and they could have been seriously stung the way they were playing.