large wasp like insect

b5mac · #1 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007, 07:17 PM

hi. i've registered here to try and find out what i've seen. i saw 1 last year and 1 a couple of weeks ago. i live in fife, scotland. the first 1 i saw was in a garden in kinross. it was about 2" long, yellow with black rings just like a wasp and had what looked like a black stinger. the second 1 looked the same only it was blue with black rings. that 1 was on a shed in dobbies garden centre in dunfermline. wish i had taken pics before they flew off. been trying to find anything similiar on the internet with no luck. i thought hornet but i don't know if they were here or that colour. thought dragonfly but the wings were folded down over it's body and i don't know if you get them looking like large wasps. help would be great! it's doing my head in!! thanks

wyevilla · #2 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007, 07:25 PM

Hi b5mac and welcome to the WAB forum.

They both sound like horntails. The first is likely to be Urocerus gigas. The second I'm not sure but could be Sirex juvencus. Do google these and see how they look.

b5mac · #3 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007, 09:27 PM

thankyou!! found pics of the first 1 you gave me and i think thats it. the second 1 i saw was basically the same but a nice blue colour, couldn't find a pick that looked like it but at least i know what they are now. have these horntails been around for a while and i've just never seen them? i'm 35 and i only saw my first 1 last year!

wyevilla · #4 (**permalink**) 11-09-2007, 09:51 PM

Hi b5mac, glad I was of some help.

The great Horntail Urocerus gigas is a native and and relatively common in GB. The female has the ovipositor ie horntail whilst the male is a less impressive beast.

The eggs are laid (drilled into) conifers where the larvae burrow through the wood. For this reason horntails often turns up far from their original location as they will emerge from wood used as fencing posts and other industrial uses.

delfin · #5 (**permalink**) 12-09-2007, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b5mac

hi. i've registered here to try and find out what i've seen. i saw 1 last year and 1 a couple of weeks ago. i live in fife, scotland. the first 1 i saw was in a garden in kinross. it was about 2" long, yellow with black rings just like a wasp and had what looked like a black stinger. the second 1 looked the same only it was blue with black rings. that 1 was on a shed in dobbies garden centre in dunfermline. wish i had taken pics before they flew off. been trying to find anything similiar on the internet with no luck. i thought hornet but i don't know if they were here or that colour. thought dragonfly but the wings were folded down over it's body and i don't know if you get them looking like large wasps. help would be great! it's doing my head in!! thanks

Think I've seen something similar. I live in Argyll, and a huge insect got trapped in my windscreen wiper. Unfortunately I wasn't able to stop the car before it got dislodged, but it was bee like but huge - about two inches long and a bee like body. It was luminous yellow and black striped with large dragonfly like wings. I've also tried to identify it on the net without success. Hope someone can solve the mystery of the Scottish flying giants!

b5mac · #6 (**permalink**) 13-09-2007, 05:20 PM

you were more than helpful wyevilla!! if it wasn't for you i'd still be thinking we were being invaded by giant hornets!!

. delfin, if you google the first name wyevilla gave me you'll get a few good pics of the insect i saw, might be what you saw. thanks again!

delfin · #7 (**permalink**) 14-09-2007, 09:48 AM

Thanks b5mac. Have checked out those pics, but still none the wiser. The beastie I saw had a plump body, almost like a giant hornet. Also, the colour was quite luminous on the narrow banding. It still unfortunately remains a mystery. Hope someone can eventually help.

thunder · #8 (**permalink**) 14-09-2007, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by delfin

Thanks b5mac. Have checked out those pics, but still none the wiser. The beastie I saw had a plump body, almost like a giant hornet. Also, the colour was quite luminous on the narrow banding. It still unfortunately remains a mystery. Hope someone can eventually help.

Delfin, look for Hornet Moth or Lunar Hornet Moth on the net - just posibly might be what you saw.

henrya

delfin · #9 (**permalink**) 15-09-2007, 08:32 AM

Thanks henrya. It looked like a lunar hornet moth, looks like you have solved my mystery. It was certainly an impressive beast.

jebdiva · #10 (**permalink**) 17-08-2009, 03:00 PM

Hi there, i was stood in my garden yesterday when my husband drew my attension to his leg. There was what looked like the biggest wasp i have ever seen on it. i cought it and after looking on the net it seems to be a horntail. would like to know how it ended up in my garden in stoke-on-trent. Are they indiginous to the uk ?