Darn it, is that a hornet

 Found in our toolshed, a dead hornet that got lost and failed to escape.

Hornets are on the whole fairly docile despite their fearsome appearance (look at that sting).  They rarely sting unless trodden on or poked.  Leave them alone and they will leave you alone.  

Like their smaller relatives the common wasps they spend most of the year collecting caterpillars and other insects to chew up and feed to their larvae.  But like wasps, when the queen is laying no more eggs and they have no larvae to care for in August and September they seek out sweet things to scoff, like your beer or a pot of jam.