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On Mon, 23 Jun 2003 09:15:44 +0100, Malcolm wrote:


In article , Andy Spragg
writes
"Essjay001" pushed briefly to the front of the
queue on Mon, 23 Jun 2003 04:30:14 +0000 (UTC), and nailed this to the
shed door:

^ OK so there I was sitting by the pond feeding the fish when this beast
came
^ along and hovered in front of me. Having never seen one before I was
^ somewhat apprehensive. (Strange things with stings worry me). First
off I
^ thought it looked like a very fat damsel fly, but in the time I had to
look
^ at it (not very long) I noticed its abdomen was about the size of a 13
amp
^ fuse, tan in colour and furry. Very rapid wing movements. Not much to
go on
^ I know but all I was thinking was 'if that thing has a sting I could
get
^ hurt' any ideas?

Short wings, long wings (in comparison to body-length)? Wholly or partly
transparent, or solid wings, with or without markings? All things difficult
to remember or even notice at a fleeting glance, I know. Did the legs hang
down while it was flying? Did you notice the antennae. Did it seem to have
a waist at all, like a wasps, bees or ants do?


A hornet?

There are some short stumpy-bodied dragonflies (can't think of any names at
the moment).

Hornets have black and yellow striped bodies, not "tan". They're just
like wasps on steroids, but without the aggression!

Hornets (Vespa crabro) have orange/brown eyes and hairs
[http://www.muenster.org/hornissenschutz/hornets.htm], whereas the common
wasp (Vespula vulgaris) have black hair and eyes.
[http://www.hadleyweb.pwp.blueyonder....a_vulgaris.htm]

If you see a black and yellow thing that's as big as a hornet it's probably
a queen wasp.

What I'm not clear about is whether Essjay has looked at the picture of a
Hummingbird Hawkmoth, because what he is describing fits that fairly
well.