European Hornet

Mrsroadrunner Photography | European Hornet




Meet the European Hornet! Rather big , flashy insect visiting my Foxglove Flowers.



This is the first time I had noticed this visitor here at the house, or anywhere! The first three photographs are cropped. I was not sure what I was dealing with so gave this bee plenty of room! The series of photographs is rather long so I stuck to uploading just these six photographs. Also had to read up on this European Hornet, for like I said I never photographed this species before.



The neighbor home was not lived in for some years so I do wonder what the new neighbors may have living with them over there? Hopefully this European Hornet and the other Hornets were just passing through?

Reading up on the European Hornet it sounds like this is not something one wants to deal with as far as a nest goes! Since we are the High Desert we have plenty of canyons. The state is trying to clean up the juniper trees that could be home to such creatures, the canyon rocks may make a nice place to set up shop for such creatures to build their nests?

The flowers you see here is the Foxglove. The Foxglove is not a flower you want to go unchecked! This species of flower is pretty and I do like the Foxglove, however I also worked for a ranch where I had to kill the Foxglove (for a reason, however we are not talking about the Foxglove Flower), so ying yang.



I like the shot above for the shot above shows the abdomen, or the nasty part of any Hornet. I can not express to you how big this European Hornet is! I read where the males do not sting. HELLO, I just do not know which is male, which is female and I for one do not want to find out the hard way!

The only "true", Hornet is North America is what I read. When I read that something is "extremely" aggressive this is just not something my common sense had to be told. I do not pick up, try to touch any of the creatures that is new to me for such a reason. Ignorance is not a pretty thing. One look at this insect told me do not mess with it!

Red to me means fire. Sure some creatures are like mushrooms. Which one is ok, which one is not? Seeing this creature in my garden also is one reason I told the neighbor that I really do not want his children to come with me in my garden until he and his wife are sure the children are not allergic, and know the rules about such wildlife that can sting. The children are super good kids and watched and waited where I asked them to.

The other neighbor who feels it is ok to come into my garden, pick my flowers (huge no no), and do whatever she wants to without my permission is another story.



We do have wasps here in the High Desert! So many wasps that they set up shop what seams like over night!! Constantly looking out for these nests and destroying them. Wasps will set up shop even in peoples vehicles! I have rules, one of the rules is if you can hurt me you will not set up shop here!! People who know me in the real world know I just can not put up with such things. The wasps do try, got to give them credit for trying!! The European Hornet eats such things as wasps. Not that I will excuse the European Hornet from setting up shop here for this!

I would think if a person has the European Hornet setting up shop on their property the person would have common sense to pay a professional to take care of the nest. Some folks might be surprised to hear me say such a thing as to kill off something, however sometimes wildlife can get out of hand. Knowing I have such a Hornet even visiting the garden like the European Hornet has made me more alert, looking for such a nest, making such places as our lilac bushes / tree's not a place that would be a comfortable place for such a thing to set up shop in.

Knowing I am not my brothers keeper, or what my neighbors do or dont do I have no control over. I just wished folks were more aware of their environment. Specially when children are involved.



I get many visitors after my morning watering. Living here in the High Desert is different then living say, in the valley where I grew up. One has to water on this side of the Cascade Mountains if you want a garden! Even grass which I am not real fond of, though understand the benefits of such a thing as lawn, you have to water it too!! Since water is such a big deal here in the High Desert, visitors do stop and get drinks, perhaps something to eat before moving on. Once visitors know we are here, we do see the same species of visitors stop year after year. Some visitors set up shop, like I said though they have to be within my rules to stick around. The European Hornet is not within my rules.

My afternoon/evening watering we do get visitors. Though with Guy's work schedule the way it has been the last couple of years we have to get sleep sometime ha!

Thank you for stopping by and checking out my photography, and/or my observations of my world around me.

Bald-faced Hornet Eating

Mrsroadrunner Photography | Bald-faced Hornet Eating





Meet the Bald-faced Hornet. I came upon what I think is the same Bald-faced Hornet on several different days in our garden. This is from one of those days.

I noticed something rather large on one of the raspberry leaves, upon further investigation I observed this creature eating. Keeping my distance of about a foot seamed good for the both of us!



I really could not see or photograph clearly of what this Bald-faced Hornet was eating on. At times I thought it was a honeybee.



This week I noticed going through my photography archives (I found it easier to take photographs, then write and upload them later on), I found I had several new types of Hornets and Wasps show up, this was in June of 2014.



As I was observing this creature eating , I could sense it new I was photographing it. Just some of the movements it made. Not wanting to get stung I kept my distance. I hear the sting hurts??

Though I dont touch many of the things I photograph anyways, even things that dont sting. Some creatures can be harmed by something so thoughtless as the oils of our hands. Even the stress of handling some creatures can kill them. I learned this some time ago from a teacher of mine. I wonder if he knows that he was listened to by some of us students?



This Bald-faced Hornet did turn its back on me several times! I know by having such things as the snakes, some creatures feel if they can not see you, then you obviously can not see them! Makes sense if you only have the capacity to think only so far.....



Perhaps this Bald-faced Hornet just thought the sun was beating down and got to hot for eating it's meal? Moving in the shade did something to my light, however with the color of these Bald-faced Hornets you can still see its face. Not so much of what it is eating. Dose not hurt my feelings one bit!



MMM wonder what Wikipedia says about these Bald-faced Hornet?

Dolichovespula maculata (yep I will remember that name haha - what about you ha).

It makes a paper nest. I have several rules here, one of the rules is such things as the Hornets, Wasps are not allowed to set up shop here. They can visit, heck everyday if they wish. They can even get drinks here, but no setting up shop!! I got stung before walking by a truck we had. Since then this has been a rule of mine. Just keeps the peace here since , like Wikipedia says the female Bald-faced Hornet will continue to sting to protect her nest..... OMG can you imagine??

You can read more over there here .

I can regurgitate what is written over there or you can just read it yourself if you so choose.



My photographs can be enlarged by clicking on them taken you to the folder in which I placed these. There you can do all kinds of things, which should be making the photograph larger if you wish.



Since all was still going well with photographing this Bald-faced Hornet I just kept photographing it. Went with the flow you know?



I did go in a little closer, no these are not cropped these photographs are off my camera. Named so I can find them easily in my archive, uploaded to the website already named for optimization.



This Bald-faced Hornet is just doing what it would do, hopefully if I were there or not. At least this is what I am going for with my photography.

Some washing did take place, however sorry to say those photographs did not come out. At one point this Bald-faced Hornet did get tired of me photographing. Or at least that is what it seamed like as I watched it wash itself, then carry the small portion of its meal that was left under the leaf!



As the observation was winding down I moved further away into another spot and took these photographs.



This all was going down in the raspberry patch. The raspberries have a lot of things going on. Never a dull moment around these! Since the raspberries are basically thornless I have kept them.  We even get some berries from them that the birds and other critters do not eat haha!

Thank you for coming by and checking out this series of shots from the Bald-faced Hornet eating. I have another series from another day which is going to wait for frankly I forgot which day I took the photographs ha!