As we were walking out the door to go to the school's open house, we came across this....
After smashing this one inch long monster, we left for the open house all feeling quite nervous about what we had seen. Keep in mind, we are a family of frog and bug hunters. The kids and Michael Jon have spent many summer evenings chasing and catching everything from frogs to snakes; from june bugs to lizards. Not much makes this crew nervous. In fact, Chloe's claim to fame has become her ability to catch a wood bee without getting stung. She's quite proud of that one.
But this thing was HUGE. And it looked angry. Large and fuzzy. We assumed it was some type of fire ant.
So when we arrived home and did some research on it, we found out that it is actually a wingless wasp. The name "Cow Killer" comes from it's ferocious sting. So strong and painful, it could "kill a cow", but not really dangerous. Just a way of explaining how excruciating this thing can be. Fortunately, they do not live in colonies. They are solitary and will leave you alone if you leave them alone. But I just spotted another one in the flower bed. So it would appear that they are here for our Rose of Sharon bushes and the blossoms' nectar.
Now to convince the kids once again to not go barefooted in the yard. Sigh...easier said than done. Isn't summer over yet?
