Random Thought Thread

Casinostocks said:
There was a time when a much younger planet Earth had 35% oxygen as opposed to the approximate 20% or so oxygen today. The much higher percentage of oxygen meant much denser and lusher vegetation and probably much larger wasps or whatever they were back then, most likely as big as flying cows!

Sweet dreams TRfromMT :D
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Hard Knocks said:
Edit: Google is a scary place....

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Casinostocks said:
Hahahaha

Run Tony, run!
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See, why y'all gotta bee like that?! Words sting, too, ya know.

I am glad there appear to be several others here who simply hate yellow jackets and the like. Does my heart good.
 
I don’t mind the flying, stinging insects as they almost always leave me alone, but I will kill the hell out of some scorpions! They like to do cute stuff like hide in your shoes or your bath robe and then sting you. I only kill stuff that gets in my house.
 
fonedork said:
Using the cavalry saber to bisect yellow jackets midflight might be cool. One time in Tennessee I picked up this giant red hairy ant and it started making this gnarly sound and then it stung my hand. Giant red hairy asshole!
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That sounds like a Red Velvet ant or "cow killer". They are actually wingless wasps and pretty difficult to kill. We saw quite a few when we lived in Georgia. Definitely assholes!
 
Jo the Machinist said:
Here you go Mat. The day after ...

View attachment 1143525 View attachment 1143524
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Ouch!
Looks like you might have a slight allergy. If there’s a next time, take an antihistamine (Benadryl) immediately after. If you can get a papaya, cut a nice slab and put it over the site for a while. There’s an enzyme in it that breaks down their (yellow jacket) venom.
Jonny’s right. Mustard (because of the vinegar in it) will help or just a cotton ball with vinegar on it.
Hopefully, there won’t be a next time!
 
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Odog27 said:
Ouch!
Looks like you might have a slight allergy. If there’s a next time, take an antihistamine (Benadryl) immediately after. If you can get a papaya, cut a nice slab and put it over the site for a while. There’s an enzyme in it that breaks down their venom.
Jonny’s right. Mustard (because of the vinegar in it) will help or just a cotton ball with vinegar on it.
Hopefully, there won’t be a next time!
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Never heard of the papaya remedy. Growing up, you could put a pinch of Copenhagen/Skoal or snuff on it and the tobacco is supposed to help draw the poison out.
 
Odog27 said:
Ouch!
Looks like you might have a slight allergy. If there’s a next time, take an antihistamine (Benadryl) immediately after. If you can get a papaya, cut a nice slab and put it over the site for a while. There’s an enzyme in it that breaks down their venom.
Jonny’s right. Mustard (because of the vinegar in it) will help or just a cotton ball with vinegar on it.
Hopefully, there won’t be a next time!
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I took 2 Benadryl immediately along with Advil and put some CBD oil on it. I hate to think what it would have looked like otherwise. :(

Thanks for the sympathy guys! Nate killed them dead! :D
 
TRfromMT said:
When I fought forest fires we had some kind of beetwasp/hornet thing I have only ever seen in the burned areas after a forest fire.

They were about 2 or 2 1/2" long and flew really slowly. They were fearsome, for sure. We called them stump fuckers because they laid eggs in hollow stumps. Weird beasts, and very large and slow.

They did not sting, as far as I know. That was their problem not mine.

We would catch them and sadistically torture them to death. This included burning off one wing and setting it free, cutting off a body segment (head, usually) and setting it free. All kinds of crazy shit. Spent hours killing them one at a time.
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Sounds like either horntails (wood wasps) or cicada killers. If they’re laying their eggs in tree stumps then they’re probably wood wasps. Cicada killers burrow into the ground. Wood wasps lack stingers and cicada killers have the ability to sting but are not aggressive.

Velvet ant stings hurt like a sonofabitch and their stingers are unbelievably long. Jo is right, they’re frustratingly difficult to kill. Stomping on one on hard ground doesn’t guarantee success.
 
amflud said:
Sounds like either horntails (wood wasps) or cicada killers. If they’re laying their eggs in tree stumps then they’re probably wood wasps. Cicada killers burrow into the ground. Wood wasps lack stingers and cicada killers have the ability to sting but are not aggressive.

Velvet ant stings hurt like a sonofabitch and their stingers are unbelievably long. Jo is right, they’re frustratingly difficult to kill. Stomping on one on hard ground doesn’t guarantee success.
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Cicada killer was my first thought too, but dismissed it when got to the part about laying eggs in stumps
 
I just googled this. It is a Giant Wood Wasp! This is the creature we tortured endlessly back in the mid 90's when I fought fires in Montana.

Over 20 years ago and I remember these guys. This is the thing. I never knew what they were. Giant MF'ing things. We made sure to always wear our leather gloves when we caught them. Also needed the gloves when picking up red hot coals to burn their legs off.

thanks A amflud
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Odog27 said:
Ouch!
Looks like you might have a slight allergy. If there’s a next time, take an antihistamine (Benadryl) immediately after. If you can get a papaya, cut a nice slab and put it over the site for a while. There’s an enzyme in it that breaks down their (yellow jacket) venom.
Jonny’s right. Mustard (because of the vinegar in it) will help or just a cotton ball with vinegar on it.
Hopefully, there won’t be a next time!
Click to expand...
Small heads up for folks with allergies.

If you need to take something to reduce an allergic reaction, a combination of H1 (Benadryl) and H2 blockers (Ranitidine/Zantac, Cimetidine/Tagamet, Famotidine/Pepcid), can elicit a stronger effect.
 
khukoo head said:
I don’t mind the flying, stinging insects as they almost always leave me alone, but I will kill the hell out of some scorpions! They like to do cute stuff like hide in your shoes or your bath robe and then sting you. I only kill stuff that gets in my house.
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I have not seen any around here, but I have a friend who lived about 10 miles north. (You could see the Gunsite flag from his back patio) Both he and his wife hated spiders and scorpions, but there were a lot in his area. They would come up on his patio. He had Orkin on quick dial. :D
 
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