Red Paper Wasp
Aaron Wadley sends in this picture of a large wasp cruising around his front lawn. I believe that this is a red paper wasp, except for one thing: the size. Check it out. Aaron trapped the wasp and broke out the tape measure:
Now I’m not a scientist, but numbers don’t lie. It says right there on the tape that this wasp is ten feet long.
HOLY FREAKING CRAP.
Most paper wasps don’t get much bigger than about 2cm, so this one is clearly some kind of radioactive mutant.
Guys, I am flattered that you are doing dangerous things like taunting spiders and braving hornets and such, but please: don’t get yourself killed. All handling of wasps larger than one meter should be left to professionals, okay?
You’re lucky this was a red paper wasp, Aaron. They’re much less aggressive than the European variant, and I hear their sting is actually fairly mild for a wasp. (It still stings, mind you! I said for a wasp.) Either way, it’s a gorgeous specimen and a great photo. Thanks!
Slowly getting the site back onto an even keel. It's nice to get back into the old posting rhythm.
tceisele said,
July 28, 2008 @ 7:59 am
“All handling of wasps larger than one meter should be left to professionals, okay?”
Ok. Erm, are there any professionals at handling >1meter wasps? I just checked the yellow pages under “giant insect removal”, and I’m not finding anything.
JFargo said,
July 28, 2008 @ 8:13 am
I can’t stop laughing. When I saw the measuring tape, before even reading the write-up I was thinking about commenting with “that’s a HUGE wasp!” Then what you wrote was just so much better than what I had in my head.
Heh. Seriously laughing out loud.
And Aaron? I love that first picture. I’ve never seen a wasp that looks quite like that.
Aaron said,
July 28, 2008 @ 9:20 am
No sacrifice is too great for a picture for Insect POD!
I completely laughed out loud. I never even noticed the details on the tape measure when I took it.
David Brady said,
July 28, 2008 @ 9:42 am
@tceisele: I am reminded of something I heard on a documentary about African elephants. I will paraphrase it for you here:
“There is no shortage of experts in the field of meter-plus wasp handling who will tell you that the giant red paper wasp can be safely handled by a professional, but in the field of meter-plus wasp handling, there is also no shortage of dead experts.”
David Brady said,
July 28, 2008 @ 10:09 am
By the way, Buffer Status: Thursday’s post is written (thanks, JFargo!), and I have 11 days worth of images slotted up–solid slotting through a week from this Friday, plus the Friday after that.
My goals this week:
Note: If you have submitted an image, and haven’t received a reply from me by Friday, then I have not received your image. I will post a News item about this on Friday.
john said,
July 28, 2008 @ 7:25 pm
Aaron, great picture! Please keep those giant wasps away from small pets and children!
Alex said,
August 16, 2008 @ 1:34 pm
Your blog is interesting!
Keep up the good work!
James Bagley said,
August 18, 2008 @ 1:58 pm
Hey, I got stung by seven red wasps and all that mild sting stuff is nonsense! I got hit this morning and it still hurts this afternoon.
David Brady said,
August 18, 2008 @ 3:00 pm
James Bagly: Ouch! Sorry to hear it, man.
Wasp stings inject a chemical cocktail that is part acetylcholine, part histamine. The latter causes itching and swelling; coldpacks and antihistamines will help there (spray-on benadryl rocks for this, but any mosquito or bug-bite ointment/spray will do).
The former is a neurotransmitter that hijacks local nerves and causes your pain receptors to fire. In short, it is “liquid pain”. Topical anesthetics are your friends here; sunburn spray or even rub-on aspercreme can help ease the sting.