Are bald-faced hornets a problem?

[Irwin]

They'll set up a nest somewhere else nearby.  Chances are that you have had a nest in your vicinity before this year.

yeah, there is a good chance they may have been in some thick pine trees nearby, and I wouldn't care if they were there again... but right under the eves by the front door was a little too close.

I did still try to kill it anyway, but missed and it flew off and didn't return.

Your lucky there Sarge every time I miss I get stung and they one heck of a sting But when they stop to sting you can get them

[wildwoodflowerfarm]

The advice to live and let live with hornets is ok as long as they are not around your living or working area but if they are anywhere that people occupy they need to be removed as quickly as possible.  As an ER nurse I can tell you that hornet stings in particular are dangerous.  Both  hornets and yellow jackets sting in mass, hornets more so than the jackets.  While one  sting hurts but is  tolerable, multiple stings can seriously affect a person and I have had patients die from shock with a multi sting attack.  Not from allergic shock mind you but from the severity of the injury.  Also, use a long distance means of removal.  A bee vac might work in a colder area but here in the deep South would be asking for trouble.  High heat and humidity here seem to make the boogers worse.

[Natalie]

I really need to get familiar with these different insects so I know what I am seeing when I am outside.
There was a huge and I mean huge bee(?) in my car the other day.
My husband caught it in a jar to show it to me.
It had a yellow or white spot on the front of its head and was mostly black but had very faint yellow bands.
It looked like that thing could do serious damage.

[SgtMaj]

I really need to get familiar with these different insects so I know what I am seeing when I am outside.
There was a huge and I mean huge bee(?) in my car the other day.
My husband caught it in a jar to show it to me.
It had a yellow or white spot on the front of its head and was mostly black but had very faint yellow bands.
It looked like that thing could do serious damage.

Sounds like a bald-faced hornet to me:

[TwT]

was it the European hornet? they are huge, I find them here now more thn other years, they seem to not be a pest to hives yet but from reading they can be bad....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_hornet

[dirtyanklebeekeeper]

I have seen a few hornets this year and they will fly right down to the entrance of a hive and carry a bee away. On occasion I will see three or four bees attack the hornet and take it down. I cannot find their nest though. any tips on how to track them down?

[Natalie]

Its almost like in between those two types of pictures you guys posted.
I have never seen such a huge bee but it did have that spot on its face, just not as much coloring as the picture of the baldface hornet.
I wish I had thought to take a picture of it.

[annette]

Here are a couple of photos of the hornet I found dead outside the bee hive last summer. The girls got it.

[Scadsobees]

Natalie,
How about a cicada killer?  They are intimidating and can act aggressive but rarely sting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada_killer_wasp

There are also waspy looking bugs like horntails.

Rick

[SgtMaj]

I have seen a few hornets this year and they will fly right down to the entrance of a hive and carry a bee away. On occasion I will see three or four bees attack the hornet and take it down. I cannot find their nest though. any tips on how to track them down?

You could try beelining them... just see what direction they fly off in, then move your hive 90 degrees from that direction and see what direction they fly off in again, the intersection of those two lines is where they should be at if they fly straight home like a honey bee does.

[dirtyanklebeekeeper]

Thanks sgtmaj. We will have to try that. Don't want them to get out of hand.

[tillie]

I see them every summer.  They are stalkers of the bees and carry live bees off to feed their young.  I haven't ever killed one but I have seen the bees ball them like Annette said. 

http://beekeeperlinda.blogspot.com/2006/07/attack-of-bee-eater_16.html

http://beekeeperlinda.blogspot.com/2006/07/death-to-intruder_12.html

Linda T in Atlanta where rain is here (Yay!) but it is interfering with honey production because the bees can't fly for days

[Bee Whisper82]

I can't believe that other bee will feed on honeybees in the first place. Honeybees don't do that.

[annette]

I always meant to tell you Linda that I just adore that photo of the 2 bees standing next to the dead hornet.  Like they are posing with the kill. I also love how you got the photos of them dragging away that same hornet.  Just wonderful.

Annette

[tillie]

I can't believe that other bee will feed on honeybees

The bald-faced hornet is a hornet - not a bee -

Linda T in the beautiful n. Georgia mountains where the blackberry is still full of blooms and bees