Wasps in Winter? WTF?

[scorza]

So I was just about to go to bed last night when I heard the sound of a Lancaster bomber overhead - turned out to be a huge wasp knocking around my bathroom. I killed it but as I have a mild phobia of wasps it took me ages to actually get to sleep.

Thing is, this is the second wasp I've had in the house this winter. I thought they were all hibernating in winter so why are they harassing me? Does this mean I have a wasps nest in my attic?

 

[scorza]

Looking on Wiki, it could have been a hornet - but they are supposed to die out in winter as well

WTB orbital nuke facility.

 

[scorza]

To OP; there was no need to kill the thing just cos' it's in your vicinity. RIP

I hope you're not serious. What else could I do? Letting it go outside would have killed it anyway - there was a frost last night, plus it would run the risk of me being stung, which is unacceptable.

 

[scorza]

Aren't they like wasps except you need a crossbow to kill them with?

Crossbow or a rolled up Sunday Times TV guide The one I killed was this big

 

[scorza]

no they have mouths and bite insted iirc, i would check but for some reason ff is saying server not found to every site apart from ocuk

Nah they do. According to wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornet#Stings

European hornet sting

* in itself is not fatal except sometimes to allergic victims.[1]
* multiple stings (several hundred) may be fatal due to the amount of venom (similar to wasps and bees).[citation needed]
* is similar to a wasp's.
* is less toxic than a bee sting.

All hornet stings

* are an allergen for people with an allergy to wasp venom.
* those allergic to wasp venom are not necessarily allergic to bee venom as they contain different chemicals.
* contain less volume of venom than a bee sting.
* are primarily for killing insect prey.
* are slightly more painful than a typical wasp's due to a large amount - 5% - of acetylcholine [3]. See Schmidt Sting Pain Index [4].