It was October when I found the horntail, and she was on a log, crawling in and out of the bark, looking for a place to hibernate I'm guessing, or maybe to lay eggs. I used my finger to knock her into a jar. Easy peasy. So many hymenoptera are greatly misunderstood. They don't all sting. Same thing with cicada killer wasps. They are HUGE and scary looking and sounding, but don't bother or harm humans. Heck, I've handled a bumblebee once (cue "I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee"), and it didn't sting me. I was a server at Applebee's, and a lady who sat at my table had a large "true" bumble in the hood of her coat. I calmly scooped it into my hand, and carried him outside.
Yellow jackets on the otherhand, I kill on site.