15 European Hornet

Vespa crabro

Characteristics

Length: Queen 1.38 in (35 mm); worker 0.98 in (25 mm).

Flight season: April–November.

Nectar sources: Ivy.

Habitat: Woodland, grassland, meadows, gardens.

The European hornet has a black-and-yellow head, a red-brown thorax, and an orange-and-brown-striped abdomen. Its large size and brash colours, enhanced by a loud buzz when it flies, give this insect a fearsome appearance, but it is generally a docile insect, less likely to deliver a sting than its smaller common wasp cousin. It will only sting if its nest is threatened. Native to Europe, this large social wasp was introduced to North America in the 1880s. It is a predatory insect, feeding its larvae smaller wasps, flies, and moths, and eating windfall fruit and tree sap. Hornets also visit and pollinate flowers to stock up on nectar before hibernating.

A queen hornet starts nest building in April or May, typically in a dark, hollow tree or under the floor of an outhouse. She mixes saliva and chewed plant fibers to make the “plaster” for cell partitions, into which she lays eggs. These develop into nonbreeding worker hornets, willing helpers who take over the construction of the colony. Later, fertile males and females hatch. These mate after nuptial flights. The females will be the following year’s queen hornets, and they go into hibernation, while the males, workers, and old queen perish.