Hornet by Vaughn Matthews
I don't know why but I really like hornets. When one buzzes past like a small Vespa scooter, it stops me in my tracks while I take a moment to watch it journey on.
Sadly, these gentle giants of the insect world get a rough ride. As if their sheer size and deep buzzing isn't enough to terrify most, they now have to deal with being mistaken for invasive Asian hornets. These beautiful chestnut-coloured giant wasps, though, should be cherished rather than despised.
Hornet by Wendy Carter
Our native hornets are the largest European wasps, with queens growing up to a whopping 35mm in length (although males and workers are a little smaller). They're much more chestnut and have more prominent eyes than your 'usual' black and yellow wasp. Most wasps are not particularly aggressive unless provoked but hornets are actually quite shy and try to avoid contact with humans. They'd much prefer to use their sting to subdue their prey than waste it on us!
Hornet nest by Rosemary Winnall
The favoured des-res of a hornet colony is a large hole in a tree but, failing this, we've also seen them in bird boxes, bat boxes and even dormouse boxes in some of our woodland nature reserves! Where available and suitable, they've also been known to construct nests in buildings (roof spaces are a fave) and occasionally in holes in the ground. Woodlands, however, remain the best places to look for them as they hum along sunny rides or hunt insects from the heads of flowers.
Queen hornets hibernate through winter and April and May's warm weather wakes them from their slumbers in time to start new colonies. A queen will find a suitable nest set and begin to build her nest from chewed wood and other plant material; this papier-mache-like material is called carton. Within the stripy, artistic, protective outer casing are long hexagonal papery cells. Each cell hangs downwards, which means that the eggs and larvae that occupy them seemingly defy gravity by remaining safely tucked up in their own pad.
Once her eggs start to hatch, the queen heads off to find insects to feed to her growing larvae. Once her initial offspring have emerged as adult hornets, they do this work for her and the colony rapidly grows. With the passing of the months, the colony eventually produces reproductive individuals - new queens for next year's colonies and the males who mate with them. Once mated, the males die but the females seek sugar-rich foods like windfall apples and ivy flowers to fill up on before hunkering down for winter.
Hornet feeding from a windfall apple by Wendy Carter
If you're lucky enough to stumble upon a nest, it can be relaxing to watch the hornets coming and going. A word of caution, though, as hornets will defend their colony...and rightly so. Stay at a safe distance, take care not to block a flightpath into or out of the nest and make sure that you don't cause the nest to vibrate; unless they have reason to fear you, hornets will continue to come and go with you watching on.
If you're watching out for hornets on your travels, please also keep an eye out for invasive Asian hornets. Read more about how to identify them and where to report them to if you spot one.
