I have wronged my dog.
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flurgh identified the "bee" in the pictures as a yellowjacket. I haven't had much experience with them. I do remember that when I was a kid, some of my classmates mentioned having encountered them, but that's about it.
Done a couple of quick 'net searches. Disappointed that the best source I've found so far has been Wiki. It'll have to do.
The relevant point is that yellowjackets are wasps, not bees. And the important thing about that is that they can sting more than once... and aren't shy about doing so. It had occurred to me that perhaps the dog had been stung in his wild puppyhood. Before we adopted him, he lived with another family who let him wander the conservation land that bordered their property. We know he had lyme disease (previous owner didn't believe in vaccinations, among other things). I'm thinking now, though, that he was stung yesterday. His fur is too thick for me to get a good look, but it would definitely shed new light on his reactions. Poor pup.
He's okay now, anyway. A single sting hurts for a while, but otherwise isn't harmful if you aren't allergic.
Wiki says that yellowjackets are usually about half an inch long, with queens being more like three quarters. The one I caught was definitely bigger than that. The penny is three quarters, and you can see by the pictures that it was longer. Another site, however, says that they can be up to an inch long.
I'm thinking I may have caught a queen scouting for a place to build a new nest. It's a little late in the year, I think (supposed to be early Spring), but we've had unusual weather lately, which may have thrown things off a bit.
The other factor is that there's another one buzzing around the ceiling, trying to get out through the kitchen skylight. I think it's about the same size. Could be a second queen. Or could be a sign that there's a nest nearby and workers are out scavenging. We have had nests in the yard before (and once in the pole of the long-neglected basketball hoop), though I'm not sure they were yellowjacket nests. If there is one, we could apparently have thousands of workers buzzing around the yard this summer.
Anyway, the second wasp has consistently remained on the kitchen ceiling. If I try to shoot it down and fail to make the kill, I'm liable to piss it off. I'll try to trap it if it descends, but otherwise I'll leave it be until it... never mind. It just made it to the back door, and I let it out.
Still concerned, though, that two of them made it in. It makes the possibility of a nearby nest (with access through the walls) far more likely.
flurgh identified the "bee" in the pictures as a yellowjacket. I haven't had much experience with them. I do remember that when I was a kid, some of my classmates mentioned having encountered them, but that's about it.Done a couple of quick 'net searches. Disappointed that the best source I've found so far has been Wiki. It'll have to do.
The relevant point is that yellowjackets are wasps, not bees. And the important thing about that is that they can sting more than once... and aren't shy about doing so. It had occurred to me that perhaps the dog had been stung in his wild puppyhood. Before we adopted him, he lived with another family who let him wander the conservation land that bordered their property. We know he had lyme disease (previous owner didn't believe in vaccinations, among other things). I'm thinking now, though, that he was stung yesterday. His fur is too thick for me to get a good look, but it would definitely shed new light on his reactions. Poor pup.
He's okay now, anyway. A single sting hurts for a while, but otherwise isn't harmful if you aren't allergic.
Wiki says that yellowjackets are usually about half an inch long, with queens being more like three quarters. The one I caught was definitely bigger than that. The penny is three quarters, and you can see by the pictures that it was longer. Another site, however, says that they can be up to an inch long.
I'm thinking I may have caught a queen scouting for a place to build a new nest. It's a little late in the year, I think (supposed to be early Spring), but we've had unusual weather lately, which may have thrown things off a bit.
The other factor is that there's another one buzzing around the ceiling, trying to get out through the kitchen skylight. I think it's about the same size. Could be a second queen. Or could be a sign that there's a nest nearby and workers are out scavenging. We have had nests in the yard before (and once in the pole of the long-neglected basketball hoop), though I'm not sure they were yellowjacket nests. If there is one, we could apparently have thousands of workers buzzing around the yard this summer.
Anyway, the second wasp has consistently remained on the kitchen ceiling. If I try to shoot it down and fail to make the kill, I'm liable to piss it off. I'll try to trap it if it descends, but otherwise I'll leave it be until it... never mind. It just made it to the back door, and I let it out.
Still concerned, though, that two of them made it in. It makes the possibility of a nearby nest (with access through the walls) far more likely.