They aren't bees!!!

I'm highly allergic to bee stings - the US kind of yellow and black stripey thing that stings - so when our house got invaded 3 days ago by yellow and black flying stripey things I went sort of nuts. I quarantined my son & I in a little section of monster-less household, waiting for my husband to come home. He came home really worried about it, thinking we had a wasps nest outside (because as far as I can tell, a UK wasp = a US bee?) but he laughed and laughed when he got here - because we were being attacked by completely harmless "fake" wasps that have wasp (or bee)-like coloring to fool their enemies. Stupid bugs! So I've killed, oh, 40  or 50? since then - no longer afraid of them, fully unleashing my bug-rage upon them.

Marlespo, how do you tell the difference??? I'd LOVE to hear that what we've got are just harmless bugs!!!

I've been reduced to sitting outside with a can of Raid (I know, not very environmentally friendly nor good for me to breathe, but I'm really terrified of the things!) and twice have left my sunny seat in the garden because the little buggers just wouldn't leave me alone. Our lavender plant is loaded down with the big, fuzzy bumble bees but they don't ever come near us - it's those little yellow waspy ones that are driving me MAD.

  Happy that  the little buggers were harmless hon! 

Yeah, Marlespo, how do you tell the difference?  I'm allergic to bees too and suspect that baby will have the same problem.

They ren't the big fuzzy kind - they look like a normal US (non big and fuzzy) bee. Here are the best photos I could get.
Proper wasps are bigger than these (though still stripey) and have bigger.... (searches her brain for old biology terms but fails)... butts. You know - the stingy bits ate bigger. These things dont have them, they also don't buzz.



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hmmm... bug rage... good term! I have that!

thanks for the info btw. those things drive me nuts!! unfortunatly we DO have wasps nests somewhere under the eves by our bedroom window

Our conservetory gets raided by these things quiet often they are very annoying little things, bumbing their heads against the roof making it sound like it is raining there is so many of them, and they are so dumb.  Glad to know they are not stining kind.

Glad to know they are not stining kind.

Nope, just the dumb, killable kind.