Off Topic Sighting...

[mbpi at juno.com]

Greetings all!

I thought I'd ask on this listserv, since my sighting resembled a
"bumble-bee moth," but in reality was a Hymenopteran species.

I was at the post office in Evanston, Illinois this morning around 8:30
am, and witnessed a huge erruption of what appeared to be at first glance
bumble-bee moths!  After watching their behavior for several minutes, I
realized they weren't the least bit interested in the flowers surrounding
the post office, but were instead extremely pugnacious in their behavior,
attacking everything from sparrows to bumble-bees.  Though they weren't
attacking people that came and went from the Post Office, they did hone
in on me as I stood there watching them, and I finally saw one land and
it definitely had the stance of a bee or wasp with it's six sturdy legs. 
The antennae were large and bristly, and when I realized they were
Hymenoptera, I was quite taken aback by their humongous size!!!  Not
knowing if they were the "stinging" variety, I quickly beat a hasty
retreat...

Question:  What WERE they?!  I've never seen such a big-bodied bee/wasp
like it!  They even dwarfed the bumble-bees...

M.B. Prondzinski
USA

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