The hornet belongs to the wasp family and is the largest social wasp in Britain. Despite their formidable appearance and scary reputation, hornets are docile creatures that only attack in defence.
Hornet's are a gardener's friend, being important pollinators and predators of pests.
Hornet facts
Scientific name: Vespa crabro
Family: Vespidae
Diet: Insects like crickets, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and wasps, as well as nectar and tree sap
Predators: Birds, lizards
Size: 3-4cm with a wingspan of 2.5-3.5cm
Weight: 0.5g
Lifespan: One year
Nature’s friendly giant
Although they are fearsome-looking, hornets are important pollinators and gentle creatures. In the UK, we have one native species: the European hornet.
Measuring between 3-4cm long, hornets are big insects with large stingers that are no more painful than those of smaller wasps. They use it to attack insect prey, which they chew up and feed to their larvae, or to defend their nest. Hornets are predators of pests that feed on plants and crops – so are a friend to many farmers and gardeners.
In recent years, the Asian hornet has been spotted in parts of the UK. This non-native, invasive species is slightly smaller with yellow legs and is a major threat to bee colonies. If you see an Asian hornet, you should report it.
Our network provides habitats for hornets that stretch from rural to urban areas. Home to hedgerows, grassland, woodland edges, and scrubland, our canals are vital natural corridors for insects.
How to identify a hornet
European hornets look like the common wasp, albeit much larger. Their bodies are chestnut brown and yellow with dark stripes. They have red colouring towards the head and reddish wings. Like the smaller common wasp, their colouring and pattern serve as a warning to predators that they are venomous.
Hornets have hair on their thorax and abdomen but are not as hairy as most bees. Queens are bigger than the males and workers.
Like other wasps, hornets build their nests by chewing on wood to make a pulp that's easy to mould.
What do hornets eat?
These misunderstood creatures are great to have in your garden, as they feed mainly on the insects and pests that ruin vegetables, flowers, and plants.
Adults have also been known to eat spiders, and queens eat tree sap and nectar while laying eggs or preparing for hibernation. They have even been observed stealing prey from a spider's web without the spider attacking. They change their feeding habits depending on the season, switching from foraging in the spring and summer to scavenging in autumn.
How do hornets breed?
The life cycle of a hornet is like that of a wasp. As social insects, their lives revolve around the nest.
In winter, female hornets hibernate. Those that survive emerge in spring to become new queens. They begin building papery nests from rotting wood and organic materials in dark, sheltered areas. The queen then lays eggs that hatch into female workers, who look after and expand the hive.
As the building continues, the queen lays both male (drones) and female eggs, which hatch and mate in summer. After summer, the workers and males die, and the females go into hibernation again to repeat the cycle.
Worker policing
Worker hornets do not typically lay eggs, but they're able to lay haploid eggs (meaning that unfertilised eggs develop into males and fertilised into females).
However, to prevent this, worker hornets police breeding by destroying worker-laid eggs or discriminating against workers laying eggs. This ensures that only the queen reproduces, benefitting the productivity of the hive and reducing conflicts.
As social insects, hornets live together in 'papery' nests. These are often built in tree hollows, although some have been found in wall cavities and guttering. They are constructed from rotten wood and wood shavings, which the hornets chew up with saliva into a pliable pulp which is easily moulded.
Hornets are found in a variety of habitats, including woodland, grassland, and urban areas. Populations are most common in southern England and Wales but are spreading further north.
Hornets are most active in the summer months. Keep a look out for them between May and November. Listen out for deep, noisy buzzing sounds on your local stretch of canal or in a garden, park, or woodlands.
