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Hello to the Hymenoptera curious. I am stationed in Iraq right now and have on numerous occasions seen up close and personal, (often to my serious discomfort!), a large brown insect which I assume is some kind of wasp. I say this because I watched one of them buzz around someone's head before it went in for a sting. The soldier whom it stung immediately grabbed the insect in his hand and squashed it's life away. He then made the comment, "thank God I'm not allergic to these things". An hour later the guy noticed large reddish discoloration in his skin and headed to the aid station. The Doc said he most certainly had a severe reaction for just one sting. He was given Epidepherine and now has to carry one with him over here. No prior known allergies to bees/wasps! What is this thing? It doesn't have the well known "striped thorax" like other wasps and bees. It does however have an off-white or tan marking on the upper side of it's thorax resembling a long narrow trapazoid. The one's I saw are about the size of those Ciccada wasps. A very nast brown wasp that packs a wallup. This is the only place I've ever seen them. I will try to get a photo of one, if I can find another dead one. The body structure resembles the hornets / yellow jackets more so than the paper wasps. I've searched the internet for sites about insects indigenous to Iraq or the middle east, but have found nothing really. Can it be that I am so far off the beaten path that no site has yet been designated? Oh well...I appreciate anyone's input on this. Email: kevintomford@earthlink.net Thank you sincerely. Kevin

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