Archive
BEAUTIFUL HORNETS
11/09/2025
Caption: Hornets feeding on fallen pears.
There are many hornets around at the moment and, although they are largely carnivorous and hunt other insects, they love sweet things and can often be seen on fallen fruit such as plums, apples and pears, all of which have produced bumper crops this year. The species you are likely to see (but note below) is the European hornet Vespa crabro, Linnaeus 1758. This is our largest wasp and, like the common wasp Vespula vulgaris, is a eusocial species: it has a social structure which is complex such that individuals live in a colony and the females and their offspring work co-operatively to care for the young as in several species of Hymenoptera.
Hornets will certainly sting you if you tread on them, molest them or grab them, or if you get too close to or disturb their nest, but generally they are not aggressive. They are also phototactic and I often find them in the moth trap, drawn to the ultraviolet light. They will come to street lights, too, and porch lights, sometimes in relatively large numbers if there is a nest nearby.
There are many hornets around at the moment and, although they are largely carnivorous and hunt other insects, they love sweet things and can often be seen on fallen fruit such as plums, apples and pears, all of which have produced bumper crops this year. The species you are likely to see (but note below) is the European hornet Vespa crabro, Linnaeus 1758. This is our largest wasp and, like the common wasp Vespula vulgaris, is a eusocial species: it has a social structure which is complex such that individuals live in a colony and the females and their offspring work co-operatively to care for the young as in several species of Hymenoptera.
Hornets will certainly sting you if you tread on them, molest them or grab them, or if you get too close to or disturb their nest, but generally they are not aggressive. They are also phototactic and I often find them in the moth trap, drawn to the ultraviolet light. They will come to street lights, too, and porch lights, sometimes in relatively large numbers if there is a nest nearby.
Caption: Entrance to a hornets’ nest in a hollow willow tree.
Hornets’ nests are constructed out of “paper” made of chewed wood, like a wasps’ nest, and often found in a hollow tree as in my photo here. You can just see a couple of hornets at the entrance, the main nest being inside the tree. They will also nest in bird boxes to the consternation of ornithologists!
Caption: The Asian of yellow-legged hornet Vespa velutina, an invasive alien species Photo by Charles J. Sharp Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International licence.
A hornet to look out for, and be concerned about, is the Asian or yellow-legged hornet Vespa velutina Lepeletier, 1836, which has now colonised Britain. As well as the yellow tarsi, it usually has a darker brown abdomen and black head as illustrated, and it is somewhat smaller than our European hornet (20-30mm long rather than the 25-35mm of the European hornet).
Their nests are in shrubs/trees and they are serious predators of honey bees. In Europe, people attacked by Asian hornets at a nest site have suffered serious trauma, anaphylactic shock and even death, so please do not go near any suspected Asian hornet nest but be sure to report it to the authorities (see https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-app-to-report-asian-hornet-sightings.
Betts Ecology take care to conserve European hornets and their nests but please avoid disturbing or molesting them and keep well away from their nests. If a nest is constructed somewhere that may be of concern, such as on or near a playground, do please inform us so that we can take appropriate action.
All photos of European hornet © Dr C Betts
