A DUMBARTON business owner got a fright recently when what appeared to be a gigantic wasp entered his store.

Richard Laing, who runs the newly opened Kitchen Depot on Meadowbank Street just off Glasgow Road, was in his store on Wednesday when the angry-looking insect landed on the leg of his salesman, Vinnie.

Tongue firmly in cheek, Mr Laing says Vinnie “was screaming like a big girl.”

“No really, we did get a bit of a fright,” he said.

“We flicked it off and realised it was a huge big wasp thing, about two and a half inches long.

“It's the first one I've ever seen.”

Mr Laing posted the pictures to Facebook and a hill-walker friend enlightened him what it really was.

“Apparently it's some kind of wood wasp. He said they're normally up next to the loch and they don't come down here but the weather had brought it down.”

Contrary to Mr Laing's initial fears, an expert confirmed it was likely a female great horntail, a kind of sawfly or wood wasp.

Dr David M Shuker, senior lecturer at the school of biology at the University of St Andrews explained the striking appearance of the insect.

He said: “They look fierce because of the 'ovipositor' through which the female lays eggs into wood – but it is not a stinger and they are harmless, if slightly alarming in size.

“They are often mistaken for hornets because of their colouration and size but they aren't dangerous.

“They are found throughout the UK and are not that uncommon in suitable habitat such as coniferous woodland or where logging has taken place.”