Comments for Eye Level Pasadena

Comment on Mysterious red ant wasp by Carol F

Carol F — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 22:44:28 +0000

I lice in K C MO and for about three weeks one about like this with wings was in my barn when I was. His wings would move up and down while her was sitting still (like those that are smaller and bluish in color. It was not afraid of me and we just looked at each other. He does not show up anymore.

Comment on Black ladybug with red spots at Eaton Canyon by Emory

Emory — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 18:31:27 +0000

I live in FL and have these all over our yard in these whispy bush like plants. My daughter loves to look for them and have it crawl on your hands and arms.

Comment on Mysterious red ant wasp by Anthony Guarino

Anthony Guarino — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 20:45:41 +0000

The Justin O. Schmidt Sting Pain Index
(biologists’ for rating the intensity of Hymenopteran stings.)

Rank 0: No pain.
Stinger unable to penetrate skin. Examples: Horntail, many ants.

Rank 1: Pain so slight as to cause no real deterrent.
Examples: Sweat bee, Sphecids such as the Great Golden Digger Wasp
(Sphex ichneumoneus), many ants.

Rank 2: Painful.
Examples: Honey bees, yellowjackets, bumble bees, carpenter bees,
hornets, most paper wasps. These are the most commonly encountered
stingers, but their greatest danger is the potential for allergic
reaction.

Rank 3: Sharply and seriously painful.
More painful than a honeybee sting. Example: Velvet ant (Cow killer).

Rank 4: Traumatically painful, often medically serious.
Examples: Tarantula hawk (Pepsis)–common in the American southwest.
Bullet ant (Paraponera clavata): found in the American tropics. So
painful you may fall to the ground, writhe and scream.

Comment on Mysterious red ant wasp by Anthony Guarino

Anthony Guarino — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 20:45:17 +0000

More about the pain scale….BTW, Velvet ant rates between 3 and 4 for both scales. Not as bad as the tarantula wasp (aka Pepsis wasp, which we have in So Cal).

Comment on Mysterious red ant wasp by Anthony Guarino

Anthony Guarino — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 20:41:53 +0000

BTW, if you are stung, you will know. Most of you that said you got stung and it went away after a few minutes were just bit by it. These things will make you feel like you NEED to go to the hospital. There are two scales to use when identifying sting pain….
Starr sting pain scale
(courtesy Wikipedia):

(1-4, 4 being the worst, literally making you think about suicide, as per several accounts I have seen and read)
1.0 Southern fire ant
2.0 Honey bee, Africanized bee, Bumble bee, Yellowjacket
3.0 Velvet ant, Paper wasp
4.0 Pepsis wasp, Bullet ant

Schmidt Scale of Sting Intensity (1-10, 10 will make you want to die):
1.0 Sweat bee: Light, ephemeral, almost fruity. A tiny spark has singed a single hair on your arm.
1.2 Fire ant: Sharp, sudden, mildly alarming. Like walking across a shag carpet and reaching for the light switch.
1.8 Bullhorn acacia ant: A rare, piercing, elevated sort of pain. Someone has fired a staple into your cheek.
2.0 Bald-faced hornet: Rich, hearty, slightly crunchy. Similar to getting your hand mashed in a revolving door.
2.0 Yellowjacket: Hot and smoky, almost irreverent. Imagine W. C. Fields extinguishing a cigar on your tongue.
2.x Honey bee and European hornet: Like a matchhead that flips off and burns on your skin.
3.0 Red harvester ant: Bold and unrelenting. Somebody is using a drill to excavate your ingrown toenail.
3.0 Paper wasp: Caustic and burning. Distinctly bitter aftertaste. Like spilling a beaker of hydrochloric acid on a paper cut.
4.0 Pepsis wasp: Blinding, fierce, shockingly electric. A running hair drier has been dropped into your bubble bath.
4.0+ Bullet ant: Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like fire-walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch rusty nail in your heel.[3]

Comment on Mysterious red ant wasp by Anthony Guarino

Anthony Guarino — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 20:34:02 +0000

These velvet ants are actually wingless wasps, and their sting is one of the top ten most painful stings on earth!!! I just saw a TV show on Discovery or NG. Can’t remember which. I believe it was number 3 on the list, under an ant from S. America, and ABOVE the fire ant which also dwells in the LA area.

Don’t get stung by one of these bad boys. They’ll make you wish you were dead!

Comment on Black ladybug with red spots at Eaton Canyon by heart

heart — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 21:50:56 +0000

i found one in my backyard and i got a picture on my phone before it flew off… the coolest part was the red spots were shaped like hearts!

Comment on Black ladybug with red spots at Eaton Canyon by Houston Local(Northside)

Houston Local(Northside) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:09:33 +0000

I just found one in my moms Orange Tree while on the second floor Balcony. What Luck !!!!!!!!!

Comment on Mysterious red ant wasp by daniel

daniel — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 23:03:12 +0000

Today, Saturday 24th,2010. I saw almost the same Red Velvet ant and it did moved like a wasp, but never flew (no wings). It didn’t walk like an ant, sort hopping/running quick. I tried capturing it, but too quick for me. It burried it self under the dirt and I end up losing it. But freaky weird man…

Comment on Mysterious red ant wasp by Lynn

Lynn — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 19:07:41 +0000

Saw one on my front porch a few years ago. Used raid wasp killer, raid ant killer had no effect. My son found a second one yesterday, again on my front porch. We are in Wentzville, MO, an hour west of St. Louis. Moves too quickly to risk stomping on it. It was well over an inch long. Too scary to catch in a jar.