Something Straight Out of a Horror Film in My Backyard

Not being a woodsy person, and as a result, never having seen one (in real life) before, I was totally shocked yesterday when I found this hanging off a branch from the only tree in my backyard:



Nestled amongst the thick leaves, it's almost invisible unless it's specifically being looked for. So how did I find it, you might ask? Well, when I was mowing my lawn, I was minding my own business when, once I got underneath of the tree's low-hanging branches, I felt a sudden

STING -- JAB!!!

Right on the top of my head. I remember it like it was yesterday (wait a minute; it was! ) -- I immediately took hold of my head with both hands and fell to the ground in a split second on my back, hitting the ground hard. It felt like somebody took a razor-sharp knife and hammered it into my scalp.

For the first few minutes it hurt like a b*tch, but after that the pain basically stopped. I guess the lawnmower must have kicked up some dirt or rocks and disturbed them, because for several hours afterwards, from inside my house I sat and watched dozens of the hornets swarm around where the nest was. Now, today, I've got my Raid and I'm heading out on a mission. It's a shame that I have to destroy it; it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Nature amazes me like that sometimes.

Anyway, here's a couple more pictures from a couple different angles:





Later I found out they were white-faced hornets, to be exact. Pretty big and mean motherf*ckers.



I dunno; I thought it was pretty cool, so I made a separate thread to tell you guys. Not only is this the first bees nest I've ever seen like this, but it's the first time I've ever gotten stung. And it was no fun!

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I'm really scared of bees and hornets, so I'd probably sh*t myself if I saw that in my backyard. I was kind of afraid to walk out my front door a couple of weeks ago, because there was a small hornets nest right above my doorway.

I carry an Epi pen for such as the likes of those...

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I got stung quite a few times as a kid. I remember once me and some friends were in the woods, near where I lived, and we found a bees nest. The nutter kid (there's always one isn't there?) grabbed a stick and shoved it in. As you can imagine, the bees all flew out and chased us. As my friends were all older than me they could all run faster (I was about 6 at the time) so I was the first one the bees caught up with. That was not a fun day.

That's a huge nest. Get the hose!

So... when the swelling went down did you put doggie poop in that kids shoes?

Yikes. :/ I can't imagine what would have happened if I didn't sprint to my house; I'm guessing there were at least one-hundred bees in that nest.

The nest is gone now, though. I emptied a full can of Raid on it, and a couple hours later, I cut the branch down with the nest still in-tact (all wet with the poison), and threw it over my backyard fence and into the woods. I saw several dead hornets just inside the entrance of the nest. I was tempted to get a stick or something and try to cut it open to see what it looked like inside (I can only imagine; is it like a small bee metropolis in there?! ), but common sense got the better of me and I just ditched it over the fence.

PS: Sorry about putting the thread in the wrong section; don't know what I was thinking.

Nope. That kid was about 10. Where I lived, there was only one other kid about my age. All the others were at least a couple of years older.

I can see why you wouldn't ... but I bet it was a wee bit tempting... if not the doggie poop, then to do something to him...

Those are awesome pics, Dom. I'm allergic to bee stings, but don't need an epi-pen. I just swell up like the sta-puft marshamllow man. Bee stings hurt like a mofo.

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That's interesting, does anyone else think it looks like a face with eyes closed and the mouth open in the first 2 pics lol.

What kind of bees have you been stung by before, Mrs. Darcy? I wonder if I was allergic to bee stings, what a sting right on the top of the head from a white-faced hornet would have done?

Now that you mention it, I can sort of see that.

That is insane mate, glad you didnt get swarmed

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I used to just swell up at first... but then it got to where I had trouble breathing when I got stung... I ended up in the clinic or emergency room a lot when I was a kid... now I try watch for them and have cans of Raid placed in various locations around my house.... and you're right Bee stings hurt like a mofo...


Dom did you keep the nest after you Raided the pests? And yeah, n3wt's right... it is a very good thing you didn't get swarmed. Sometimes it doesn't matter if you're allergic or not when a whole swarm attacks you...

No, but I was tempted to. After I cut the branch down that it was hanging on, I threw the branch (along with the nest still attached) over my backyard fence, never to be seen again. It would have been cool to break it open and see what was inside--to see the inner workings of such a big nest--but I was thinking "There might be survivors way deep inside that thing" so I resisted the urge.

Rep for getting stung ...

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Haha I thought that this thread was entirely about how creepy that hornet nest looks. It completely looks like a tortured soul caught between heaven and hell and the hornets are Gods plague upon the face or something. If I saw that thing in my back yard I'd be more freaked out by it's appearance than the hornets but then again I've never been stung by a bee or anything so I don't know the pain

Heh, you could look at it that way, rice (although I never did until just now ). Hopefully you never get stung. It didn't hurt *that* much, but for the first two or three minutes, my head was throbbing pretty wildly. While it lasted, it was pretty intense, but the pain faded fairly quickly.

You think that thing is beautiful?



She wouldn't.

(well, she might in Alien: Resurrection...)

GET THAT NEST! KILL THEM!

Sure, considering the fact that dozens of tiny little insects constructed it using nothing but what they could scavenge and bring back to the site, little by little, over the course of just a few days. Seeing it really made me take a few minutes to genuinely appreciate nature, and that's something I haven't done for a long time.