No Sting Zone – How to Keep Stinging Insects Away With stinging insects causing more than a half a million-emergency room visits per year, it is understandable the fear that is invoked by the sight of wasps and hornets. During late summer and early fall, stinging insects can be especially aggressive as they gather food [...]
Cicada killers are large predatory wasps that hunt cicada in order to paralyze them to be placed in chambers as a food source for their young. Areas that are typically inhabited by cicada killer wasps are typically ones with well drained soil near trees or shrubs where cicadas are present with a sandy loose soil. [...]
Scorpions are found throughout the nation, particularly in warmer climates. As Colorado falls in that category, it is not uncommon to see scorpions in those creepy cracks and crevices like piles of rocks or leaves and in wood piles or sheds. When you do see them, they are generally not welcome house guests, and it's [...]
More than 55 species of velvet ants inhabit Colorado and at least one or another of the velvet ants can be found in most areas of the state with the exclusion of higher elevations. Lower elevations of open fields of prairie short grass in both eastern and western Colorado are common habitats in which to [...]
The golden digger wasp is a solitary wasp common in many areas of North America as well as south into Mexico, Central America, South America and other areas of the Caribbean. Size ranges from over ½ inch to up to 2 inches in some reported sightings. Golden digger wasps have large amber colored wings that [...]
Solitary wasps whose common name comes from the mud nests they construct out of mud. Mud daubers have slender, threadlike waists. Typically ½ to 1 inch in length, these wasps are typically very placid unless handled roughly. Nests are often located in barns, garages and under the eaves of houses in urban setting where as [...]
Bumble Bee on Sunflower Adult bumble stinging insects are large at roughly ¾ inch in length. They have black with yellow or orange colored hair patterns on their abdomen giving them a very fuzzy appearance. Both queens and workers have pollen baskets on their hind legs that are utilized in carrying pollen back [...]
Found across a majority of the United States and Canada, baldfaced hornets are not a ‘true’ hornet, they are an aerial yellowjacket. The only ‘true’ hornet in North America is the European hornet, which is an accidentally introduced species. The baldfaced hornet’s name comes from the white to ivory colored markings on its face. Ivory [...]
Western yellowjackets are a ground or cavity nesting species common in Colorado. A medium sized wasp, western yellowjackets are black with uneven bright yellow bands. They have a narrowed, waist-like appearance where the thorax and abdomen meet. Mated queens overwinter reemerging in the late winter to early spring to begin feeding and building a new [...]
It is not uncommon for clients to ask for referrals to stinging insectkeepers for swarms and/or colonies of honeystinging insects that have taken up residence. We are happy to provide referrals in these cases as we understand the concern that is circulating concerning the declining number of honeystinging insects. We also receive calls each year [...]
