European hornet
The European hornet, a native of Europe, is now found in various parts of North America and is recognized as the only "true hornet" in the region belonging to the genus Vespa. As a social insect, it forms large colonies typically consisting of 200 to 1,000 members, including a singular queen that governs the hive. The queen is crucial for reproduction, laying both fertilized eggs that develop into females and unfertilized eggs that become males, thereby influencing the colony's structure. European hornets build their nests from wood particles mixed with saliva, commonly situated in hollow trees or protected areas of buildings.
These hornets are distinct from yellow jackets, which are often mistaken for them in North America. European hornets grow to about an inch in length and exhibit a striking appearance with a yellow head, dark reddish-brown thorax, and light yellow underbelly with black stripes. While they possess stingers for defense and prey capture, they are generally less aggressive than common wasps. Their diet consists of various insects, fruits, and nectar, making them both predators and scavengers. The queens can live up to 10 months, while workers and drones typically have shorter lifespans.
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European hornet
The European hornet originated in Europe and is found in the United States. The European hornet is a social insect which lives in large colonies. In North America, most large hornet-like insects are called yellow jackets. The European hornet is a very close relative of yellow jackets.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Uniramia
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Vespidae
Genus: Vespa
Species: Crabro
The European hornet may be found throughout most of North America but was originally discovered in Europe. Although its name is a hornet, it belongs to the Vespidae family of wasps. It is the only North American "true hornet," or one belonging to the genus Vespa. The European hornet builds its paper-like nest or hive in hollow trees and protected places within house walls. A European hornet's nest averages 200 to 400 workers but may include 400 to 1,000 members. The nest of the European hornet is made from wood particles and saliva from the queen European hornet.
Each European hornet's nest is ruled by one queen hornet. The queen begins her life as a reproductive female in another colony. When the time comes for her to mate, she leaves her home colony to mate with a drone, or reproductive male. After mating, the male dies and the female tears off her wings and finds a place to hibernate, or rest for the winter. In the spring, she awakes and begins her nest. She collects wood pieces to build the nest where she lays her first batch of eggs. She fertilizes those eggs with the sperm she stored from her mate. The queen European hornet lays fertilized and unfertilized eggs throughout her life. Fertilized eggs become females, while unfertilized eggs become males. By controlling the number of fertilized and unfertilized eggs, the queen can control the environment of her colony.
In each colony, there are a variety of castes, or social positions. Each European hornet is born into a certain caste. Nonreproductive females are called workers, while reproductive females are young queen European hornets. Whether a female matures to be reproductive or nonreproductive depends on what she is fed as a larval, or young, European hornet. Drones, or reproductive males, are also part of the caste system. Each drone is brought into the world to mate with a reproductive female to help form a new colony.
Although the European hornet is similar to the European wasp, it differs in its size and coloring. The European worker hornet may grow to an inch long (25 millimeters) while queens reach 1 1/3 inch (3 1/2 centimeters) long. Their head is yellow from the front and yellow from above. Its thorax and legs are dark reddish-brown and its underside is light yellow with black stripes. The European hornet is less aggressive than the common wasp.
Like other insects, the European hornet is divided into three main body parts—head, thorax, or middle section, and abdomen, or lower section. Like the European wasp, the European hornet has distinct orange facial markings around its large, compound black eyes. Compound eyes are eyes with multiple lenses. The European hornet also has a pair of segmented antennae extending from the top of its head and sharp, biting mouthparts on the bottom. The mouthparts of the European hornet include powerful mandibles, or jaws. From its bristle-covered thorax, the European hornet has four wings and six, thin yellow legs. Female European hornets also have stingers to stun and paralyze their prey and protect themselves from predators. In simpler species of wasps, the stinger is an egg-laying appendage called an ovipositor.
The European hornet feeds on insects, fruit, nectar, yellowjackets, bees, and butterflies.
The life span of European hornet queens is up to 10 months but most drones and workers live only a few weeks.
Bibliography
"European Hornet." Pest World, www.pestworld.org/pest-guide/stinging-insects/european-hornet. Accessed 15 Apr. 2024.
"European Hornets." University of Maryland, 27 Feb. 2023, extension.umd.edu/resource/european-hornets. Accessed 15 Apr. 2024.
"European Hornet." Pennsylvania State University, College of Agricultural Sciences, 16 Sept. 2021, extension.psu.edu/european-hornet. Accessed 15 Apr. 2024.