Hornet on Skye

[joan cooper]

I have just posted 2 pictures in the Gallery of a Hornet we found on newly felled pine logs in our garden at Dunvegan. It looks a bit different from pics of european hornets It only had 2 yellow abdomen segments above a 1 inch sting.Anyone else seen one?

[joan cooper]

I have just re checked some other messages and it seems that it was a sawfly, never heard of them it was 2inch long and i was suspicious because it did not have the typical wasp yellow qnd black segments. It was paying a lot of attention to the sap and the bark of the logs, so saw fly it must be.

[eucera]

Hi.

I think your homework has paid off. This would be Uroceras gigas, a very large sawfly.

True hornets (Vespa crabro) are extraordinarily rare north of the Mersey/Humber, and unknown in Scotland. Check out the map on Distribution Maps