For Anyone Interested in the Wildlife of the U.K.
Great Wood Wasps
Scientific name: Urocerus gigas
Size: Up to 40mm
Distribution: Found throughout the U.K.
Months seen: May to October
Habitat: Usually found in or near coniferous woods
Food: The larvae feed on dead wood
Special features: Great Wood Wasps are often mistaken for Hornets because they look similar to a wasp but considerably larger.
They're sometimes called 'Giant Horntails' for obvious reasons. The female Great Wood Wasp has a long pointed tube at the back of her body, and this is usually mistaken for a stinging organ. In fact it's an ovipositor, which she uses to lay her eggs in the trunks of coniferous trees. Despite their slightly fearsome appearance, these insects are quite harmless.
Sightings
2008 - Trowse, Norfolk - John Lewis (photo)
2011 - Portinscale, Keswick - Tony Duncan
2015 - Ringwood, Hampshire - Jon Kennett (photo)
2015 - Newport, South Wales - David Richards
2015 - Buckland Filleigh, Devon - Liz Williams
2015 - Great Smeaton, North Yorkshire - Angela Scott (photo)
2015 - Lincoln, Lincolnshire - Paul Barden
2015 - Sway, Hampshire - Janet Amoroso (photo)
2015 - Galashiels, Selkirkshire - Craig Paterson (photo)
2015 - Greerigg in Harthill, West Lothian - Carla McIntyre (photo)
2015 - Markinch, Fife - Peter Gulline (photo)
2015 - Portadown, County Armagh - Gary Thompson (photo)
2015 - Prestwick, Ayrshire - Paul Jardine (photo)
2015 - Kimpton, Hertfordshire - Emma Bull (photo)
2015 - Shotley Bridge, County Durham - Alistair Constable (photo)
2015 - Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales - Chris Matthews
2015 - Repton, Derbyshire - Neil Woodcock (photo)
2016 - Blenheim Saw Mill, nr. Woodstock, Oxfordshire - Moira Gainey (photo)
2016 - near Banff, Aberdeenshire - Elaine Bunce (photo)
2016 - Ely, Cambridgeshire - Liam McDowell
2016 - Tunbridge Wells, Kent - Julie Noel-D'Avila (photo)
2016 - Holme-on-Spalding Moor, East Yorkshire - Brian Cantrell (photo)
2016 - Bishops Waltham, Hampshire - Shaun Rusk
2016 - Aberdeenshire - Karen Sutherland (photo)
2016 - Port Glasgow, Inverclyde - Shona Scott (photo)
2016 - Forest of Dean, Glos - Jeff Ers (photo)
2016 - Maidstone, Kent - Jon Allen (photo)
2016 - Hamsterley Forest, nr. Frosterley, County Durham - Jamie Nast (photo)
2016 - Green Wood Forest Park, Felinheli, Gwynedd - Elen Parry (photo)
2016 - Stowe School, Buckinghamshire - Andrew Hunn
2016 - Swindon, Wiltshire - Rick Carley (photo)
2016 - Caton, Lancashire - Franklyn Weber (photo)
2016 - Morpeth, Northumberland - Laura Barrass (photo)
2016 - West Lothian - Anne Murdoch (photo)
2016 - Killearn, Stirling - Gordon Sim (photo)
2016 - Guisborough, North Yorkshire - Shaun Martin (photo)
2017 - Wellington, Shropshire - Tim Green (photo)
2017 - Haywards Heath Timber Yard, West Sussex - Darren Armitage (photo)
2017 - Wadhurst, East Sussex - Joe Turner
2017 - Trelaske, near Lewannick, Cornwall - Norm Gawel
2017 - Halstead, Essex - Kim Whitbread (photo)
2017 - Cardiff - Andy Wales (photo)
2017 - Winslow, Buckinghamshire - Cathie Boyle (photo)
2017 - Swansea - Vince Hide (photo)
2017 - Whiteleas, Tyne & Wear - Janet Holmes (photo)
2017 - Basingstoke, Hampshire - Michael Lambden (photo)
2017 - Newcastle under Lyme Staffordshire - David Ralphs (photo)
2017 - Dunbar, East Lothian - Zelia Carreira (photo)
2017 - Newcastle upon Tyne - Martin Watson (photo)
2017 - Bonnyrigg, Midlothian - Street Bob Brown (photo)
2017 - Blaydon, Tyne & Wear - Marie Watson (photo)
2017 - Vale of Belvoir, Lincolnshire - Stan Harrison
2017 - Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire - Rowenna Cox
2017 - Sizergh Castle, Cumbria - Elizabeth Ball, Sophie and Thomas (photo)
2017 - Lennoxtown, near Glasgow - Iain Laidlaw (photo)
2017 - Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear - Anth Knight (photo)
2017 - West Linton, Tweeddale - Louise Gill (photo)
2017 - Ellon, Aberdeenshire - Margaret Bentley (photo)
2017 - Welbourn, Lincolnshire - Ali Hallam (photo)
2017 - Sternfield, Suffolk - Alex Tangen (photo)
2017 - Kellas, Angus - Andrew Scott (photo)
2017 - Peebles, Tweeddale - Stuart Craig
2018 - Snowdonia National Park - Andy Clinton
2018 - Acomb, Northumberland - Sue Morley (photo)
2018 - Nonikiln Farm, Alness, Ross-shire - Tina Golabek (photo)
2018 - Hill of Fare, near Banchory, Aberdeenshire - Margaret Sleeman
2018 - Lowther Castle, Penrith - Alex Bird (photo)
2018 - Three Brethren, Galashiels - Dumfries Ramblers (photo)
2018 - Roslin, Midlothian - Andy Hamilton (photo)
2018 - Laurencekirk, Aberdeenshire - Scott Macpherson (photo)
2018 - Cumnock, Ayrshire - Craig Maxwell (photo)
2018 - Wokingham, Berkshire - Tony Huckin (photo)
2019 - Alwinton, Northumberland - Macy Hicks (photo)
2019 - Chessington, Surrey - Leonard RR McCullough (photo)
2019 - Peebles, Peeblesshire - Emily McElroy (photo)
2019 - Reading, Berkshire - Paul Juster (photo)
2019 - nr. Tiverton, Devon - Dr. Mark Lewis (photo)
2019 - Port Carlisle, Cumbria - David Boothman (photo)
2019 - nr. Bolton, Greater Manchester - Arthur Kay (photo)
2020 - Bristol - Ruth Margrove (photo)
2020 - Cheadle, Stockport - Andrew Peel (photo)
2020 - Hanham, Bristol - Patrick Wraith (photo)
2020 - Llantrisant, South Wales - Neil Evans (photo)
2020 - Dunlop, East Ayreshire - Archie Dalrymple (photo)
2020 - Tyrebagger Forest, Aberdeen - Julie Donald (photo)
2021 - Chippenham, Wiltshire - Kerry Edwards (photo)
2021 - Great Abington, Cambridge - Patrick Hawke-Smith (photo)
2022 - Barry, Vale of Glamorgan - Jackie Morgan
2022 - Rosneath, Scotland - Linda Williamson
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