"Ouch !" Instant Karma

[Anatta]

Kia Ora,

Well professionally I've been dealing to wasp nests for many years, possibly over 30 and yesterday and today they took their revenge BIG time...  

I had two wasp nest to do, (the first for the season) the first was a breeze, straight forward 5 minute job, he was a friend, who was mowing his lawn and accidently ran the weed eater over the nest, needless to say, he got stung for his troubles, but no stings for me, the so called "professional" ( I was kitted out in protective gear)...

The next one, I was not so lucky (my positive karmic streak ran out), it was at a retirement village just by the entrance way(people had to pass by it going in and out), it was on the other side of the hedge and over a narrow creek (a metre wide) in the embankment...An elderly tenant whose home is just a few metres away had contacted the groundsman who rang me...

It was a German wasp nest, possibly a overwintering one, so it was a biggy, a wasp city with thousands of wasps...My first attempt was a dismal failure on my part, I couldn't get close enough to the nest entry point and they had already began their attack when I was around five metres from the nest, hundreds swarmed out (and excuse the 'Hymenoptera'  pun) 'made a beeline straight for me, I had to fight my way through the tangle vines and thick bush and to top it all off I got stuck in the hedge trying to escape, well I can tell you they had a field day.  They got up my overall pants as I was crawling out under the hedge and stung me on both legs and inside both my upper arm areas..

I had to ask the groundsman if he could cut a hole in the hedge so I could have easier access...So this morning bright and early (around 6.45am) I returned to resume the battle (I had double protection on ie, two pair of thick overalls along with my normal gear : the bee veil, hat and thick welders gloves and gum boots-it's bloody hot doing wasp jobs)...The groundsman (who by the way was unprotected-just in shorts and t shirt) had cut a hole, so this time I managed to get in close to the nest and treat the entry point, but they still found a way to sting me on my chin...

So they had their karmic revenge and I wear the welts( arms legs and chin) to prove it, I respect them and as always have a deep sadness when I have to destroy such a beautiful structure and the little industrious builders (who are only doing their own thing "Protecting their homeland and queen/s"-we humans just happen to get in the way), but if I didn't destroy the nest, the elderly residents could have been stung, no doubt some would have allergies too...

Just thought I would share my somewhat painful experience (painful in more ways than one)

Metta Zenda

[DriftingCrow]

Ik ongkar Anatta:

That sounds painful! I hope your stings go down soon.  Bees and like insects are such beautiful creatures, too bad they sting.

Jap Prem, Henry

[Anatta]

Ik ongkar Anatta:

That sounds painful! I hope your stings go down soon.  Bees and like insects are such beautiful creatures, too bad they sting.

Jap Prem, Henry

Kia Ora Henry,

Yes it was quite painful, but I deserved it, I did invade then destroy their home... Last night it was difficult sleeping, not being able to move around, but the stings seem to be a lot better this morning, even the one I got this morning on the chin has gone down....

I think the common name for this particular wasp species in the US is a "Yellow Jacket"....

We have four established social wasp species here in NZ and all are introduced, the common names =The German wasp (builds big nests and can overwinter (due to our temperate climate)  during which time many queens add their offspring to the already large population... This species is very aggressive) -The Common wasp(looks similar to the german but slightly different marking and not as aggressive, nor as big nests )-The Tasmanian wasp-And the Asian wasp... The latter two are what's known as "paper" wasps, they build smaller nest which are more exposed with a population of around a couple of hundred at the most, in a well established nest...

BTW the groundsman must have felt sorry for me, he gave me a tip on top of the fee....So perhaps positive karma is building up again 

Metta Zenda

[DriftingCrow]

I just hope those giant Japanese wasps don't get introduced to New Zealand, they look so scary! 

[Jamie D]

Ouch is right Zenda.  I hope you feel better soon.  I am somewhat phobic about social insects.  Your post gave me the shivers.

[Anatta]

I just hope those giant Japanese wasps don't get introduced to New Zealand, they look so scary! 

Kia Ora Henry,

Wow, that was some video clip thanks for the nightmare 

Fortunately we don't (to the best of my knowledge) have any established hornets(large wasps) colonies in NZ...However we do have the worst social wasp problem in the world, unlike the countries of their origin NZ's got no natural social wasp predators(well apart from the likes of myself) ...

The Asian paper wasp actually arrived here in used cars shipped from "Japan", this was back in the late 1970s...

Ouch is right Zenda.  I hope you feel better soon.  I am somewhat phobic about social insects.  Your post gave me the shivers.

Kia Ora Jamie,
Sorry about what could for some be seen as a somewhat entomophobic post....I know where you live you also have lots of insect species to contend with-some friend some foe...


Metta Zenda

[Anatta]

Kia Ora,

I've just added a poll...."Have You Ever Been Stung" (and I don't mean by a used car salesman) 
Tell us your experience...

Metta Zenda

[DriftingCrow]

I've been stung many times, luckily (*knock on wood*) not lately.

As a young child, I'd walk around in the backyard barefoot and would often step on bees that were on clover. One time, a baby bee got stuck in my foot and my mom had to dig it out with a needle. Another time, I was sitting on a porch with a sweatshirt on and a bee climbed up the back of the sweatshirt on the inside and panicked when it couldn't get out. It stung me repeatedly while my dad kept slapping at my back to kill it. 

[Anatta]

I've been stung many times, luckily (*knock on wood*) not lately.

As a young child, I'd walk around in the backyard barefoot and would often step on bees that were on clover. One time, a baby bee got stuck in my foot and my mom had to dig it out with a needle. Another time, I was sitting on a porch with a sweatshirt on and a bee climbed up the back of the sweatshirt on the inside and panicked when it couldn't get out. It stung me repeatedly while my dad kept slapping at my back to kill it. 

Kia Ora Henry,

The bee's ovipositors are barbed so when they sting, they have to unwind each time so to speak, but in most cases what happens is when they sting us humans, we panic and brush them off, breaking off and leaving the barbed stinger (ovipositor) in our flesh...Wasps on the other hand have smooth ovipositors (stingers) that they can easily remove (slid out) and are capable of stinging you multiple of times...My guess it was a yellow jacket wasp that stung you on the back...

To the untrained eye certain species of bees and wasps look very similar...I quite often get calls from people who say they have bees, but when I get there I find they are wasps (this was the case with the retirement village job-the groundsman first said they were  bees until I ask him to describe their flight path and habitat...

I wonder if there are some members here who have never been stung...Most people I know have had at least one sting...

BTW I was stung in the back by a bee once when I was driving, the bee flew in the open window as I was leaning slightly forward and landed on the back of my seat, fortunately I wasn't travelling fast and could stop jump out and do"The Flight Fight Of With The Bumble Bee" dance by the side of the road...




Metta Zenda

[Ms Grace]

I haven't been stung by a wasp, but I was sitting across from a friend's 6 year old daughter when she was. Not good at all. Fortunately she didn't seem to be allergic.

I've been stung four times by bees, three times on the foot (the third time I was actually wearing sandals... the stupid thing flew in between my sole and my sandal... sheesh). The first time, when I was about four years old, was in my right armpit of all places. I was outside, it was summer and I was wearing a singlet, I remember doing an arms in the air type stretch/yawn and when I put my arms down... YOW! Still remember it with a lot of clarity.

I'm sort of allergic, I've had reactions to two of the stings but not the others.

[Anatta]

I haven't been stung by a wasp, but I was sitting across from a friend's 6 year old daughter when she was. Not good at all. Fortunately she didn't seem to be allergic.

I've been stung four times by bees, three times on the foot (the third time I was actually wearing sandals... the stupid thing flew in between my sole and my sandal... sheesh). The first time, when I was about four years old, was in my right armpit of all places. I was outside, it was summer and I was wearing a singlet, I remember doing an arms in the air type stretch/yawn and when I put my arms down... YOW! Still remember it with a lot of clarity.

I'm sort of allergic, I've had reactions to two of the stings but not the others.

Kia Ora Grace,

It's funny, I've been stung more times when wearing protective clothing than I have when not wearing any...Mind you it was in the line of duty so to speak...

Growing up in London and playing on the old bomb sites that were scattered around the area where I lived ( it took quite a few years after the war for the British government to clear the old bomb site) anyway for a dare we used to catch bumblebees as they entered the big bell flowers that grew all over the site, we would pluck the flower (with the bee still inside) and then release it.... I don't recall ever being stung when doing this...However.........

DON"T TRY THIS AT HOME CHILDREN !

Metta Zenda

[Jayne]

I've been stung before, I can only clearly remember one incident so i'll tell the tale of childhood stupidity, picture the scene. . . .
It's a sunny summer holiday in England sometime in the 80's, me & my friends had a den by the local brook & in that den there was a large boulder, one day we noticed that there was a wasps nest under the boulder, we were outraged that these insects had invaded & taken over our den so we came up with a plan (a very stupid plan but a plan none the less).
We raided our parents toolsheds & armed ourselves for war!! We returned to the den & started evicting the wasps with shovels, we had only gotten a few inches into the soil when the wasps decided to go on the defensive.
The first thing I knew of the counter attack was a sudden & extremely painfull sensation on the top of my head, one of the little blighters had gotten through my curly hair & reached my scalp at which point he started stinging again & again, I ran all the way home with him stinging me, my curly hair was so tight that my parents struggled to remove him, in the end they had to cut a patch of my hair out to get to the brave warrior.
I spent the rest of the day in bed crying from the worst headache I have ever experienced in my entire life.

Needless to say we admitted defeat & let the wasps have our den & I now have a very healthy respect for wasps & bees, the only surprise is that i'm not scared of them.

[Anatta]

I've been stung before, I can only clearly remember one incident so i'll tell the tale of childhood stupidity, picture the scene. . . .
It's a sunny summer holiday in England sometime in the 80's, me & my friends had a den by the local brook & in that den there was a large boulder, one day we noticed that there was a wasps nest under the boulder, we were outraged that these insects had invaded & taken over our den so we came up with a plan (a very stupid plan but a plan none the less).
We raided our parents toolsheds & armed ourselves for war!! We returned to the den & started evicting the wasps with shovels, we had only gotten a few inches into the soil when the wasps decided to go on the defensive.
The first thing I knew of the counter attack was a sudden & extremely painfull sensation on the top of my head, one of the little blighters had gotten through my curly hair & reached my scalp at which point he started stinging again & again, I ran all the way home with him stinging me, my curly hair was so tight that my parents struggled to remove him, in the end they had to cut a patch of my hair out to get to the brave warrior.
I spent the rest of the day in bed crying from the worst headache I have ever experienced in my entire life.

Needless to say we admitted defeat & let the wasps have our den & I now have a very healthy respect for wasps & bees, the only surprise is that i'm not scared of them.

Kia Ora Jayne,

Sorry to hear that, I guess an experience like that will be etch in your memory...  But I must admit I did smile and laugh (just a little) when I pictured the image...I couldn't help it... 

Metta Zenda

[Jamie D]

After having some winterish days in December, we got a warm  70-80F week to start the year.  It has messed with the tress trees, and my ash tree in the back yard has bloomed.  Today, from inside the house, I could hear the humming buzz of bees in the ash tree.  Thousands of them.

I got pale and closed all the doors, screens, and windows.

[Anatta]

Kia Ora Henry,

This clip shows the honey bees winning against one Japanese giant hornet scout ...

After having some winterish days in December, we got a warm  70-80F week to start the year.  It has messed with the tress, and my ash tree in the back yard has bloomed.  Today, from inside the house, I could hear the humming buzz of bees in the ash tree.  Thousands of them.

I got pale and closed all the doors, screens, and windows.

Kia Ora Jamie,

I take it you have an allergy when it comes to stinging insects... I know for most people, bee or wasp stings can be deadly especially if they get stung on the face or near the neck...

Metta Zenda

[Jamie D]

No allergy to stings, actually.

We used to have around, when I was younger, large wasps called "tarantula hawks."



They fight tarantula spiders!  How badass is that?!

These are the things that cause nightmares.

[Jayne]

Kia Ora Jayne,

Sorry to hear that, I guess an experience like that will be etch in your memory...  But I must admit I did smile and laugh (just a little) when I pictured the image...I couldn't help it... 

Metta Zenda

Don't apologise for laughing as I follow a strict rule "you must be willing to laugh at yourself before you can laugh at others", I went out of my way to word the tale to elicit chuckles from others.
I definately chalked this up as a painfull learning experience under the heading the folly of youth

@Jamie D, if I lived in a country with those things flying around i'd definately move, then again if I lived somewhere that evolved spiders big enough for those to hunt then you would see a Jayne shaped cloud of dust moving very, very quickly

[Anatta]

No allergy to stings, actually.

We used to have around, when I was younger, large wasps called "tarantula hawks."



They fight tarantula spiders!  How badass is that?!

These are the things that cause nightmares.

Kia Ora Jamie,

So it's just a phobia then...

When I worked in Oz I remember a friend (who also worked in pest management- we worked for the same company) He panicked  when this gigantic moth flew at him,  this big brave macho man whose knees trembled when confronted by an harmless moth, he ran a mile, twas a funny sight to see-sprayer backpack on, protective clothing etc and legging it down the hallway and out the exit door ...

I guess having a phobia towards certain insects or spiders is quite common...I'm an urban pestologist by profession-but no longer do this full time... I too was afraid of all the so called nasty poisonous creepy crawlies found in Oz and figured "the more I learnt (about their ecology and biology) -the less I would fear" and it worked...I have a deep respect for them, but no fear whatsoever...

Metta Zenda

[DriftingCrow]

Kia Ora Henry,

This clip shows the honey bees winning against one Japanese giant hornet scout ...

Sat nam Anatta,

Thanks for sharing that clip, it made me feel good that there's some balance in the universe.

Jap Prem

[Anatta]

Sat nam Anatta,

Thanks for sharing that clip, it made me feel good that there's some balance in the universe.

Jap Prem

Kia Ora Henry,

You're welcome....

Tis true that Mother Nature(or if you like The Tao) has a way of balancing things out...

Metta Zenda