are there tropical species of wasps/hornets?

[momz]

Sorry I have no pic to post. I saw one of these today flying around the large oak tree in our yard, then over to the southern magnolia. No exageration, it was 2- 2 1/2 inches long at least, rusty reddish front half and wings, appearing to have double wings, and neon green abdomen with dark stripes. Like chartreuse. Not yellow or orange or light green, bright chartreuse. The body seemed wider than even very large hornets. I've seen European hornets and cicada killers and bald-faced. I have seen these green things before on purple passion flower vine blossoms. We live in inland Central Florida just about at the sub-tropical/tropical line if there is such a thing. My son claims to have been stung by one of these once and said it felt like being stabbed, though he has never been stabbed . Any opinions?

[bonsaiboy]

Hornets and wasps live all over the world in almost every continent, except Antarctica. The more tropical you get, the larger insects become (usually). Could be a large species of spider hunting wasp, like the Tarantula Hawk Wasps found in Arizona and Texas. Usually they're quite drab though; not colorful. It may have also been a type of Hawk Moth or even a Dragonfly (I've seen Dragonflies with that color pattern, but there abdomens are very thin).
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[!potatoes!]

you don't even have to go very far towards the tropics to get a wasp over 2.5 inches. the cicada-killers i used to catch in ohio were sometimes pushing 3", horntails, etc. heck, if you included the ovipositor, some temperate ichneumon wasps may be 5".

uh, not to freak anyone out.