- Hornets are the largest of the wasp family (the queens reach a size
of 35 mm) and are usually quite fat and round - unlike the yellowjacket.
- The only true hornet found in the United States is the European hornet
- Hornets can actually be seen to slowly crawl backwards and eventually
flee, rather than attacking, when they are approached.
- The Giant European hornet can be found in both forests and populated
areas.
- The adults eat other insects and nectar of plants.
- The larva eat prechewed insects feed to them by the adults.
- Just a handful of Japanese Giant Hornets can kill 40 European honeybees
a minute or 30,000 within hour.
- The nest is founded in spring by a fertilized female, known as the
queen.
- She generally selects sheltered places like hollow tree trunks.
- She builds a first series of cells (up to 50) out of chewed tree
bark. An egg is then laid in each cell. After 5-8 days it hatches, and
in the next two weeks the larva undergoes its five stages. During this
time the queen feeds it a protein-rich diet of insects. Then the larva
spins a silk cap over the cell's opening, and during the next two weeks
transforms into an adult. Then the adult eats her way through the silk
cap.
- This first generation of workers, invariably females, will now gradually
undertake all the tasks that were formerly carried out by the queen
(foraging, nest building, taking care of the brood, etc) with one exception:
egg-laying, which remains done exclusively by the queen.
- Hornets are not harmless, however.
- They have a painful sting and can cause anaphylactic shock to persons
with an allergy to wasp venom, a condition which can be fatal.
- While not aggressive when encountered far from the nest, workers
will vigorously defend the nest if provoked.
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