# What Kind of Bee Did I Just See?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bee-did-i-just-see/198693
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 30, 2003, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bee-did-i-just-see/198693 "2003-08-30T22:08:45Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Onemanarmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onemanarmy)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2003, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bee-did-i-just-see/198693/1 "2003-08-30T22:08:45Z")
A couple of days ago my friends and I were walking around the local forest preserve when suddenly the hugest scariest bee I’ve ever seen landed near us. It’s body was similar to that of a hornet with a huge stinger, but it had Bee stripes on it. It was roughly the size of my thumb, probably a little bigger (I have a big thumb). What did I just see? Was this some South American bee or something that got up here somehow? I live in the midwest btw.
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### Author:  [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bee-did-i-just-see/198693/2 "2003-08-30T22:15:08Z")
Eric the Half-a-Bee!
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bee-did-i-just-see/198693/3 "2003-08-30T22:22:28Z")
From the size, it sounds like a European Hornet; these are very much like a scaled-up yellowjacket, but more sort of brown/yellow instead of black/yellow.
But the long stinger you mention makes it sounds more like some kind of woodwasp (in which case it wouldn’t actually be a stinger, bbut an ovipositor).