Giant wasps.

[tonytg806]

I visited the bar in my village a couple of days ago and the bar owner was telling me about a big type of wasp whose sting can be deadly. I'm thinking I've not had that much to drink but she was insistent that someone had been stung earlier that day and died 10 minutes later. Anyway I left wondering if it was the same type I'd swatted a week earlier and it was BIG, no confusing it with an ordinary wasp.
Anyway, last night a villager came round to talk about dogs and it was his neighbour who died. Any thoughts about this insect? Was it perhaps a anaphylactic reaction to the sting? I know their are various types of snakes that can bite but a deadly wasp????

[Seedy]

It's a hornet, Tony....
_________________
Passer sa vie à lutter contre la connerie est le meilleur procédé pour mourir épuisé

[tonytg806]

[Seedy]

Hurts if you get stung but not likely to happen unless you're aggressive or attack their nest - they prefer to avoid conflict. Some people are allergic to the venom in the sting and it's not terribly good news for them; for the rest of us it's much the same as a wasp sting but less likely to happen. Most allergies are to bee stings - wasp and hornet stings are evolved to paralyse insects, not mammals - bee stings are to dissuade mammalian honey-scrumpers. People panic when they see the size - maybe they should stand in front of a mirror with one to get a better perspective on comparative sizes!

See Here....

These will 99% certainly be European hornets; the Asian variety tend to be more up for a scrap given half a chance and have appeared in some parts of Europe: France, Italy, Spain, Portugal.. The European hornet is a protected (and endangered) species....50,000 euro fine if you kill or disturb them in Merkel-land, for example
_________________
Passer sa vie à lutter contre la connerie est le meilleur procédé pour mourir épuisé