Get your EPI pens ready SWAP

[Kudu 0]

A cow killer is beyond my tying skills. It is a red and black wasp that most people think is an ant. It is a bad dude! I would love to see Fred Hannie, Sergio, or any of the realistic guys tie one.

[Jolly Red 0]

Think I will get in on this one, with an extremely small spider pattern, During the summer I see a lot of spiders "ballooning" across the lakes, and have to think they will get into the water and get bit by fish.

[flytire 0]

i'm switching my bee pattern to a red ant pattern (i have a lot of red beads to use up)

 

[Fisherboy0301 0]

Hey Vicrider, I saw you said dragonflies make some people nervous, ahave you ever been bitten by one of those things? They hurt!!!! My friend got bit by one years ago, and recently while we were rock hopping in the stresm( in my most beautiful place I've ever fished thread) and a dead dragonfly was washed up into the rocks ahead, but it was HUGE!!! Almost 9inches long with a 7inch wingspan! He freaked out and made me move it into the water to float away before he would move on!

[vicrider 0]

C'mon, these can be some pretty simple ties so let's fill this swap out this weekend. Lots of irritating bugs left to choose from, and like I said, duplicates are fine since they'll be a different look at the same nasty critter.

[add147 0]

A cow killer is a large red/black ant that screams if you pick it up with forceps, it can extend it's stinger to almost an inch long and are named because they hide in hay a lot where cows or horses will accidentally ingest them, and they repeatedly sting from inside, sometimes enough times to kill the animal!

Fisherboy,

We call those things Cow Ants here in East Texas. I have always been told that they are actually not an ant but a wingless wasp, either wayI would not want to get stung by it.

[add147 0]

I sure hope y'all post some pictures of your creations! I bet this is going to be interesting to see....

[vicrider 0]

add147, join in with us and tie up a simple critter. As for the cow killer, I did some reading on it on several articles online. You are right in that the female is a wingless wasp that is mistaken for an ant but has an extremely painful sting, hence a sting that could kill a cow, tho there is no report of that ever happening, just old wives tales. The male is winged and doesn't sting, but the viciousness of the female sting makes up for it.

 

Solitary and a low density population, they lay their eggs in a really interesting way. The Cicada killer Wasp kills a Cicada, drags it into it's burrow, lays it's eggs on it, where they hatch and feed on the Cicada. When the Cicada Killer Wasp larva go into cocoon thinking they'll come out as a beautiful wasp, along comes the female cow killer and lays her egg on the cocoon. Her egg hatches and then feeds on the Cicada Killer Cocoon until it pupates and comes out the next season as a cow killer. So it's a classic case of a parasite feeding on a host followed by another parasite feeding on the parasite that is now a host. Life's tough in the wasp world.

[redietz 0]

I'll try a classic: a McGinty. (A bee pattern)

[Bryon Anderson 0]

I'm in -- Rusty's Bumble Bee (a la the late Rusty Gates of Grayling, MI)

[Bryon Anderson 0]

I would be willing to do two patterns--the second one would be a deer fly-- but only if it made the difference between having the swap and not having it due to not getting enough people to participate. Just let me know...

[vicrider 0]

Bryon, it's always a tough call. Would be great to get the full dozen. Makes a good run without overpowering your senses. Did a swap with 17 and that's just too many. I'll hold it 'til after next weekend. Right now it's at 9 and that would be 18 if we did two. Not bad if you do two different patterns but we'll wait and see. I am one with more time and a little (very little) extra spending money than some and usually do two for a swap anyway since it's one of my main recreations these days.

 

I had hoped to get a spot at Gates Lodge this year for a combo of FAOL meet, bamboo meet, and Fiberglass Forum meet, all within a few weeks, and Hairwing on this board is a long time cyber friend I'd love to meet and hit the Ausable at his place while we're both able but every place around including the lodge was booked that week. Most fly fisherman have heard of Rusty Gates and his Lodge and had hoped for a chance to get a visit there.

[jburge 0]

Hey vicrider, got room for one more? I can jump in with a wingless bee.

[Fisherboy0301 0]

If we end up with two patterns each I'll do a wingless foam ant.

[flytire 0]

I'm only sticking to one pattern as they are all tied up.

 

the swapmeister can keep all of my extra swap flies if this swap doesn't make the full compliment of 12 tyers

 

it should be noted by the swapmeister in the initial posting at the beginning of a swap that 2 different flies might be required if the swap doesn't fill up. it shouldn't be noted in the middle of a swap

 

if one pattern is not acceptable then i'll drop out. sorry if I'm negative but another swap I was in was full but but swappers were sending 2 flies