giant bees

[laxative]

What made these? They're huge. Lived in this tree. The pictures don't really do justice to how insanely big they are. The bees that made them were maybe the size of the last two knuckles of my pinkie finger. They weren't fuzzy like a bumle or carpenter bee. I just avoided the tree for the latter part of the summer and never really had time, and was too scared, to really check it out. They've been gone a few weeks. Normal wasps are still buzzing around the tree, and look really small. The only thing I can find on the web anywhere near this size is a giant hornet that only lives in Asia. And it doesn't look nearly as big. They weren't aggressive like yellowjackets or anything but I've never seen anything even close to this size. Wish I'd taken pictures of the bees.

Any ideas?

edit-1st two pictures are the same because I screwed it up

[huh]

http://www.everythingabout.net/articles/biology/animals/arthropods/insects/bees/bumble_bee/index.shtml

[moremow]

http://news.nationalgeographic.comIt is a little difficult to see these things by your pics. However here in the u.s.a. there is a little critter called the "japanese hornet" that is over here in the states. If you type that title in at google search engine you will see close up pics of it they offer. I have seen them here before and I believe they like to be around places that have water. I saw a special on them in asia where they had scout bees that if you went near the nest they would actually hover near your face and take their stingers and spray a little venom near your eyes. I think they like to also make nests in the ground some too. Check out the web close ups and see if they are similar. If you will follow the link i have provided you can actually view a clip of these things in action. I think it is entitled "hornets from hell"

[laxative]

I've seen that. Stuff like that shouldn't live in Ohio.

[TNT LawnCare Inc.]

BEE'S on anabolic steroids. :laugh: :laugh:

[DBL]

what is that tree infested with bees? cut that thing down in winter or just stay away from looks far enough away from anything else

[Tim Wright]

We had huge bees this year also. They looked like a gigantic yellow jacket/hornet cross. They would actually strip certain trees of their bark, and you could here it tear as they pealed the bark away.

Tim

[JKOOPERS]

dont know i was thinking carpenter bees but guess not

[Waggy6]

I wish I could see a picture of the bee. there is a wasp that catches cicadas and buries then and I guess lays eggs on them.

[Clear-Cut]

it might be a "cicada killer" yes that is the name of the "bee" and yes i have seen it carry a cicada into the nest (which is usually a whole in the ground).

they have orange wings, a black body, with white yellowish strips on its ass.

a customer i was cutting grass for has these..they said for the past 2 years they have been getting an exterminator to..well exterminate them, but they're still around...these are usually only out from june to about end of august/beginning of sept.

they were in the backyard and needless to say i didnt touch the back until they were gone (look at a pic and just imagine about 20 of these 2-3 inch things flying around about 2-5 feet above the ground..and i noticed that they would attack any other smaller insects that would fly through their territory)

here is a link if you wanna check it out...i dont think the cicada killers are what made those nests though because like i said they usually live in the ground.

here is a pic (i hope it works):
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/85/Cicada_Killer_Wasp.jpg
http://www.cyberbee.net/column/stinging/cicada-killer-nest.jpg

link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada_killer
http://ww2.lafayette.edu/~hollidac/cicadakillerhome.html

check this one out..it has a pick of the hole it digs in the ground..there had to be at least 30 of these holes all over the back yard: http://www.cyberbee.net/column/stinging/cicadakiller.shtml

[Georgiehopper]

It is not a cicada killer which are solitary wasps and do not construct huge paper nests. Most cicada killers dig a hole in the ground, place a paralyzed cicada in it and lay and egg on the cicada.

Without a picture of the insect its hard to say what it is...but the fact that you say they are non aggressive indicates a european hornet. They are very large have a kind of orange cast to them and gather in large numbers. Though somewhat non-aggressive, they will sting when provoked. There nests are as you describe as well.

[AndyTblc]

I deal with them every summer, I just fly right threw them with the mower, I am sweating bullets when I do that, but they never bothered me, but they are the ugliest and scariest thing I've ever seen while cutting grass, Well the scariest was a neighbor of one of my accounts was out their with his underwear and a tee-shirt. Other then that those ground bee's are scarry.:gmctruck: Thats why I try to cut their either early morning or later in the evening.

[Davidm]

Looks like paper wasps nest to me.

[RedWolf]

I know this may not help but I found it good reading.(A Giant Japanese Hornet, the largest species of wasp in the world, suspended in its honey! The Hornet is highly regarded for the enzymes its stomach produces, which give stamina and energy to those who ingest it. In fact in the past the Japanese Olympic athletes used to drink Hornet Honey prior to competing and clinical tests have shown that the enzyme the Hornets produce is proven to work on humans, even, it is claimed, resulting in a gold medal for a female Japanese marathon runner who is said to have used it during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The Hornet comes suspended on a large needle from the lid, the needle release the enzyme from the Hornet into the honey, but the Hornet is not supposed to be eaten, just the honey which can be spread on toast, stirred into tea or drunk on its own prior to exercising or when you need an energy boost.)

[muddstopper]

Wizzkid, if you are running a mower over Japanese hornets, you are taking a very big risk. They can and do swarm and sting and its very painfull. Their stinger looks like the lead of a pencil, so just keep on mowing overtop of them, sooner or later they will give you a wakeup call.:nono: