Any bug geeks in the house? I saw a bunch of these flying insects all over my fence today and I want to know what they are in case they're destroying it (it's on it's last legs as it is). They look a lot like ants but they don't appear to have pinchers and they didn't seem to mind the ant spray I used (unless I drenched them in it). They also have straight antenna, I understand ants have crooked antenna. I didn't see them swarming over the worst parts of my fence, the parts that already looked eaten, but still I wonder why they were on the fence and not really on the side of my house. Some are black and some are kind of tan/orange but they're all about 1/4 inch long. I have a picture attached. I'm also in South-Central Texas if that helps narrow things down.
Annoyingly I think it has both characteristics. I'm pretty sure it has a pinched waist rather than a wide waist, it doesn't have bent antenna but they're not bumpy either, it also seems to have the alien-like head of an ant.
Most likely what you have there is a parasitic wasp. Brachonidae Alate (winged) termites would have a much more elongated wing.
And if you're really concerned, contact Raul Villanueva at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Weslaco.
Granny says she ain't gonna miss `em... Fall in insect numbers an ‘ecological Armageddon’ Fri, Oct 20, 2017 - WORRYING DATA: The cause of the huge decline is as yet unclear, although the destruction of wild areas and widespread use of pesticides are the most likely factors
So long as they're not hornets you have nothing to worry about. I had one in my living room once, and believe me, they're seriously scary; I made the mistake of trying to swat it with a rolled-up magazine and after the first failed attempt it became very (and uncannily) clear that it had it in for me personally, and after slamming the door in my haste get leave the room I could hear it repeatedly banging against the door!! I ended up calling in a pest control guy (gal actually) who got dressed up in all kinds of gear including head protection. So y'all, the moral of the story is Don't mess with hornets?
A Hornet, pronunciation; Hair-nit, must be killed with fire and big hammers ! Insurance as most of your home Will be destroyed or otherwise demolished or burned. Joke.....
Yes, £25 - but this was no ordinary hornet, it was a psychopathic hornet. It was still flying at the door I'd escaped through when the operator arrived, and even she, clad in all the gear, was a bit hesitant to go into the room, but a helpful shove through the door then slamming it behind her from yours truly did the trick? I'm a coward, and I don't care who knows it!
It has considerable semblance to a male carpenter ant, but the antennae don't match and other body features seem too lanky. One image suggests active ovipositing, wherein the abdomen is curled. That's often indicative of female parasitic wasp behavior. A remote possibility is a fly built to mimic a wasp, but it would have only one pair of wings. However, an encounter of multiples is not the usual for most such parasitic wasps because their routine is usually so much of a hunt-and-seek mission against individual hosts. Rather, seasonal proliferation and somewhat sluggish behavior is typical of Cynipid wasps, but the ones I am familiar with (in NJ) are a bit chunkier and some are well colored. Their larvae are vegetarians and look like caterpillars that forgot how to grow extra legs.
It's not a flying termite, which would not have the wasp-waist and dorky neck. Besides, flying termites are sky bound for mates, not looking for something to do on a fence except launch. Wingless termite workers and soldiers typically attack from the earth. If these are parasites, they may be targeting wood-boring worms that are inside the fence material. Whether or not they are killing enough of the worms and before the worms eat their fill in a lifespan are open questions. Wood fences are not the usual domains of such worms because of dryness, but some types of beetles might be capable.