I that some variety of crab spider? Wouldn't worry about this one..she/he wants bugs.

Thats what I thought too, Good Spider! looks like a real preditor (like the lynx spider I found last year) I usually like spiders (outdoors) but have been a bit nervous since I found a couple of Black Widows this season.

Thank you for your response
Frances

It's a boy Wolf Spider. Very beneficial, very good at hunting down bugs. Though they are big and powerful I don't think they have fangs that can penetrate human skin (most spiders don't).

Spider venom is completely different than bee and wasp venom.

Thank you John

Scarey, but very handsome I thought. I am glad he is not a threat. Too busy dodging Yellow Jackets and BlackWidows this year (oh and the blasted FireAnts) seems like we had a bumpercrop of biting/stinging things this year.

Thanks for the heads up on the venom, seems sort of obvious in retrospect, guess I just never thought that much about it before, I just assume I will be alergic to everything!

Thanks again
Frances

Bees and Ants are related - so you may be sensitive to ant stings as well as bees and wasps.

Though most people believe they get bitten by ants in reality ants grab a hold of you with their front end while they sting you with the back end. So it looks like you're only getting bitten. Their stingers are usually too small for the human eye to see.

A lot of people are only allergic to honeybee stings and have very little sensitivity to wasp or even hornet stings. I've been bitten and stung by just about everything and honeybee venom is the worst for me. All of them hurt but honeybee stings take days to go away whereas most of the others only last an hour or so.

Also know that plenty of people that start out sensitive to bee stings grow out of it - and likewise, people that never had much of a problem can develop a sensitivity at the drop of a hat. Allergic reactions don't always follow the rules.

Wow John,
that explains a lot, no wonder it is so hard to get ants off! I wondered how something so tiny could inflict so much damage!

I am allergic to bees, wasps and hornets. I almost fainted when I saw a carpenter bee for the first time! but they are not aggressive at all. I love to watch the bees, they are really not agressive unless you mess with them, the others though can seem downright surly at times! I do my best to keep out of their way! Especially yellow jackets, had a couple of bad stings from them this summer.

I am almost relived to see fall this year~

Have a great day!

Frances

Lemme tell ya...I had an allergic reaction to a yellowjacket sting when I was about 5-6 years old and since then have managed to avoid it again.

You should have seen me yesterday in the pouring rain weeding my gardens in order to avoid yellowjackets.
This time of year you pull up weeds and disturb the soil and those buggers instantly appear. The rain kept all but one of them in their nests(I hope never to step on) but I was covered top to toe for protection.

Oh I am sorry, I had a similar encounter with Bees when I was 9 or 10, very bad, had to go to the hospital for a few days.

I wouldn't want to step on one of those things either, oh no! yesterday was pretty good, today though they seem to be making up for lost time!

I have been looking for a pair of those old fashion rubber boots. Those black ones, like my brothers used to wear in the rain... they must be around somewhere.

You want to use boots that will still allow you to run fast when you need to!

Yellowjackets are actually a small hornet. They prefer fruits and sweet stuff for the first half of the year and then in the fall they want protein (though they will still seek out rotting sweet stuff). I mention this because it is the most effective way to bait your traps - fruit in the early summer, rotting meat in the fall.

I had to quit trying to mow down the weeds out at the new house simply because the yard is over run with yellow jackets and fire ants and in the tall grass I can't see their nests. Winter will be here soon enough.

I have broken two toes running from bees. Not at once but on two seperate occasions. I run out of my shoes getting away from them. Seems kinda ridiculous, I'm not allergic I just don't care for them. It really is the yellowjackets and the wasps, the more aggressive kinds. I will deadhead right along honeybees and bumblebees.

Danielle