Hornets are social Vespidae, which belong to the group of Hymenoptera. They are characterised by two pairs of wings that are connected by many little hooks.
The hornet is the biggest indigenous Hymenoptera. Like other breeds of wasps, the hornets live in structured groups for one year. That means each spring the hornet queen makes up her colony which dies in autumn. Most of the hornets in the colony are workers, in autumn the young queens and the male drones are born.
How dangerous are hornets?
We all know the stories about three stings killing a man, seven a horse and only two a child. But these stories are just fairy tales. A hornet’s sting is not more dangerous than a sting of a wasp, or a bee. Merely allergy sufferers should be careful – with wasps, bees and hornets in equal measure.
Occurrence and Nourishment
Hornets used to live in species-rich mixed and alluvial forests and a park-like countryside with big old oak, ash and birch trees. The hornets build their gums in these huge trees if they can find suitable holes.
Hornets feed on tree sap, windfall in autumn and insects. They often live in meadow orchards or close to forests and lakes because of the high insect density. Hornets feed their offspring with insects. So an intact hornet colony catches up to one kilogramme of insects per day in order to nourish their offspring. As the hornets cannot find enough suitable places to build their gums in the forests, they tend to prefer human housings. Here they live in any hole they can find, in the attic or in barns. They can even be spotted in holes in the ground.
