The common hornet (Vespa crabro in Latin) is one of the most common species of the Hornet genus. The appearance of this insect is well recognizable, and its size does not allow confusing it with wasps or bees. This species is the most common in our country, and in the whole world, among the 22 species of its relatives, the common hornet has the widest habitat: it inhabits the entire temperate zone of Eurasia and North America.
An ordinary or European hornet is almost the most frequent guest in garden and summer cottages. Here he can settle down, arranging his nests, or simply fly in from nearby plantations and forests in search of food.
It is generally accepted that the bite of an ordinary hornet is not only very dangerous for human health, but is also more painful than wasp or bee stings. In general, it is difficult to argue with this statement, but for the most part, hornets for people working on the site are no more dangerous than other stinging insects. If you get to know the common hornet better, this seemingly dubious fact will become obvious.
Appearance and anatomy of our largest wasp
If you look at the common hornet from the point of view of taxonomy, it becomes clear why this insect is so often compared with wasps, bees, ants and bumblebees: they are all related species, because. belong to the Order Hymenoptera. And outwardly, the European hornet resembles a greatly enlarged paper wasp, only the upper chest is repainted from black to brown.
In the photo below - an ordinary hornet:
Experts know that hornets differ from wasps in some other color details. So, the black constrictions on the abdomen are less pronounced, and its very base is brown. However, from a distance, ordinary people can easily mistake the hornets for the wasps themselves, especially if you see them in large numbers near the nest.
Wasp photo:
And below in the photo is an ordinary hornet:
What, then, is the most striking, most pronounced difference between the hornets and most of its relatives? Of course, this is the size of the insect. The working individual of the common hornet reaches a length of 20-25 mm, and the uterus - up to 35 mm. Due to its size, this insect is rightfully considered the largest wasp in Europe.
Here are some more photos of the common hornet:
On a note
For entomologists, a more accurate distinguishing feature of hornets is the shape of their head: its back (occipital) part is much wider than the front. According to this characteristic feature, specialists can easily distinguish a hornet from other large wasps found in some countries.
Within the family of the common hornet, the uterus from working individuals can be distinguished primarily by size. However, upon closer examination, some more differences can be found between the inhabitants of the nest.So, for example, the abdomen of males, which hatch, by the way, only at the end of summer, is divided into 7 segments, while in females it is only six.
Another important feature of the hornets is that their males do not have a sting.
Nevertheless, it is extremely difficult to distinguish a male from a female with the naked eye on the move, so in any case, some caution should be exercised in the presence of a hornet.
Review
“We had hornets in our country house last year. A nest was made in an old barn under the roof, and no one noticed it until the wasps bit the grandson. He ran in tears, swollen, screaming: somewhere around three or four hornets bit him, he immediately decided that they were wasps. The husband went to look, it turned out - hornets. Well, we didn’t need this barn at all, we just closed it and left it like that, this year the hornets did not return there. And for the little one, all the rest in the village was ruined - it was only on the eighth day that the swelling on his cheeks began to subside.
Irina Gennadievna, Tver
How dangerous is the hornet?
Why is a hornet dangerous for a person? This topic is very popular among the people, but the risk of meeting with this insect is still greatly exaggerated.
Hornet venom is really dangerous - this is a fact that there is no point in arguing. If we talk about the ratio of the number of complications after bites to the total number of registered attacks, then here the common hornet occupies a leading position over wasps and bees.
Hornet venom has a strong allergenic effect. It contains histamine and some toxins that contribute to the additional release of this substance from the cells of the affected tissue.The main function of histamine is to accelerate any allergic reaction, therefore, even without the high sensitivity of the body to other components of the poison, it causes a powerful immune response.
The degree of response of the human immune system to hornet venom is purely individual. In some stung allergies, only swelling is manifested, in others, pain in the head, fever and increased heartbeat are added to the swelling. In some cases, especially when the body is highly sensitive to insect venom, the response to a bite can be anaphylactic shock and death.
For the sake of truth, it is worth noting that in the entire history of world observations in our country, only a few deaths have been recorded as a result of the bites of an ordinary hornet. Most often, people die from the "hands" of giant hornets in Southeast Asia.
Hornet venom can cause an increase in heart rate due to the presence of stimulant components. Additionally, the poison contains a large amount of acetylcholine, which causes severe irritation of the nerve endings and, as a result, acute pain at the site of the bite.
It is interesting
The length of the sting of an ordinary hornet is about 3 mm. Unlike a bee, a hornet can use it repeatedly. After a single bite, a sufficient amount of poison remains in the insect's arsenal, which, moreover, is gradually replenished with a new one.
Photo of a common hornet sting:
It will not work to treat the bite of an ordinary hornet as something ordinary: after stinging, an acute pain instantly appears, subsequently turning into a strong throbbing. The soft tissues of the place where the hornet stung quickly swell and become inflamed, and the person begins to feel fever and headaches.If the victim is prone to allergies, an increase in lymph nodes may additionally occur, nausea may appear, and sometimes Quincke's edema, leading to difficulty breathing.
However, despite the severity of the consequences of meeting with a hornet, this insect as a whole can be characterized as:
- rarer than wasps and bees;
- much less aggressive;
- injecting a smaller dose of poison into the wound of the enemy than the same bees.
These distinctive features of European hornets are noted not only by entomologists, but also by people who are far from science and focus on their life experience. So, for example, summer residents encounter hornets in their plots about ten times less than wasps. If hornets settle in close proximity to a person, then they are usually quite peaceful neighbors who do not show any aggression.
Even if you persistently “climb” into the life of an ordinary hornet, for example, to catch it on purpose, the insect will try to fly away first of all, and will start to sting only when it is in the hand of the offender. Also, hornets will attack if a person tries to get and destroy their nest.
Experienced gardeners will confirm that even in cases where hornets settle near a country toilet, insects do not react in any way to people who are constantly scurrying in the immediate vicinity of their home. Therefore, when discussing the potential danger of an ordinary hornet, it is worth remembering that this insect will never attack first without good reason.
Another thing is if a person deliberately or unknowingly provokes a hornet to bite ...
Hornets as active predators
What does the common hornet eat? It is no secret that other insects, spiders, beetles, caterpillars, and various small arthropods form the basis of the diet of this active predator. The hornets feed their larvae with them, butchering the prey directly in the nest and giving the younger generation selected soft pieces.
Sometimes hornets eat sweet berries and fruits, feed on aphid secretions, and when bee hives are plundered, they enjoy honey with pleasure. However, only adult hornets can afford such gastronomic pleasures.
It is interesting
Hornets rarely use a sting to get food. As a rule, they kill prey with powerful jaws. Poison, on the other hand, starts up only when the victim is too large and strong.
Hornets against bees look like severe killers - they are capable of causing serious damage to apiaries, exterminating honey insects with whole hives.
These predators track down bees carrying pollen to their home, mark the way to the hive, and then lead the whole family to it. Several dozen hornets are capable of completely destroying a large bee family in 4-5 hours, which has nothing special to defend itself with - bee venom does not work on hornets.
Lifestyle and reproduction
The unit of the population of the common hornet is the family. In early spring, a young queen finds a place suitable for arranging a nest, builds several combs and lays eggs in them, and then she herself feeds for the first larvae and takes care of them. When working hornets appear in a new family, all the troubles of caring for the brood fall on them, and the task of the uterus is reduced only to laying new eggs.
The life cycle of a single hornet is not so long: the development period from an egg to an adult insect is about 30 days, and the life expectancy of an adult is up to 40 days.
The nest of ordinary hornets is a large - up to 60 cm long and 40 cm wide - structure made of thin tree bark, chewed by working hornets to the state of soft cardboard. Honeycombs are also built from it, which, after hardening, become an excellent place for the development of larvae.
In the photo - a hornet's nest:
By the end of summer, the family of ordinary hornets acquires such a size that it can provide food for individuals capable of reproduction. The uterus begins to lay eggs, from which already non-sterile females and males are hatched. Around September-early October, these individuals swarm and mate.
A few weeks after mating, the males die, and the females look for suitable secluded places in the area (under stones, snags, in hollows) and hide in them for the winter, so that in the summer each of them can give rise to a new family.
It is worth noting that the old uterus and working hornets die in winter, and their nest is empty. However, young females never occupy the old nest - their new life always begins with a new home.
In nature, nests of ordinary hornets are most often located in hollows or on tree trunks.
In the conditions of proximity to humans, for example, in summer cottages, these insects choose courtyard buildings, attics, niches under roofs and slopes, i.e. places where it is always calm and quiet.
Speaking about the neighborhood of a hornet and a person, one cannot help but pay attention to the craze for fighting hornets that has been taking place lately.As a result of such thoughtless extermination in many regions of our country, these insects became extremely rare, and therefore they began to be listed in the regional Red Books.
If an ordinary hornet settles on your personal plot, it is worth destroying its nest only when the insect's dwelling has to be constantly disturbed during work. In this case, it is better not to risk it and remove the nest in any safe way. If the dwelling of insects is in a secluded place, they themselves are unlikely to bite people living next to them for no reason.
Before you fight hornets, be sure to remember that one of their families destroys up to 100 pests on your site per day. Before killing a hornet just like that, think about how much support it can provide you in the fight for the harvest.
When hornets attack a person and how to protect yourself from it
Interesting video: we cut the hornet's nest in the attic
A hornet stung me in the head
I was bitten by a hornet on the hand. She ran to the hospital. And what, they immediately put a dropper and by the evening went home on their own. There was no allergy to bees and wasps.
In our village (Kardonovka) hornets fly, but not like those described here. They are 3-5 centimeters, not 30 mm!
Only now you don’t have a school in your village and you have brains in your head. 30 mm is, in your opinion, not 3 cm?
And there are no 5-centimeter hornets, otherwise the whole world would already know your village and they would finally build a school there))
Up to 55 mm.
Dear, in 1 cm 10 mm, count the length of your hornets.
Learn materiel. 3 cm - this is 30 mm.
Timur, 30 mm is 3 cm))
The hornet stung the bridge of the nose. For three days I could not wear glasses, for two days half my face was swollen.
Two years ago, my parents neighbor died from hornet bites ((
In our village, one man died from a hornet bite, they did not have time to bring him to the hospital. He climbed into an old hut on a hayfield, and they, apparently, nested there, so the nest was knocked down inadvertently.
The Vespa Mandarinia hornet has a body size of just 5 cm, the article is right there, read it.
Bitten by a hornet. Lost consciousness, 3 days headache, nausea, swollen leg.
Stung in the foot, swollen, scabies.
The son was bitten by a large wasp, only later realized that it was a hornet.
I read the article now and I think - I'm lucky! Parents kept bees, and every year in the fall hornets flew into our house to visit us, very large, exactly more than 3 cm. Constantly saved them, let them out of the house.Often caught in a jar, examined and then released. They never stung, although, probably, she would have died, because she is seriously allergic to bees. But they are impressive animals!
And once a big wasp stung me in the hand! It was only later that I realized it was a hornet. It itched for three days and there was inflammation!
Have been with us for one year. They behaved very decently towards us. But the pears on one tree were completely gobbled up. It was scary to go up to the tree. They ate and moved to figs. They love fermented fruits. It’s scary, of course, but it’s also funny to watch the drunken beast.
I bit a hornet there, it was swollen, but it was big. I didn’t get out of bed with my wife)) Of course, I’m joking 🙂
It's a pity that I didn't bite you in the ass))
I live on the 11th floor, and this is not the first time a hornet has flown onto the balcony. Scary as hell...
I live in a village in the Irkutsk region, this morning my wife asked me to climb into the attic, where we store jars for pickling. I climbed in, I turn around, there is a cloud of hornets above me, I moved a little - and you have 4 bites. He barely ran away, but fell down again, injured his leg. Now I'm lying, my whole back is on fire. Thank God there is no tumor.
Wow
They did not sting me, but I often saw them near the window. Grandfather says that the folk remedy is urine.
We have hornets, apparently, they made a nest on the roof. At night, they fly into the window, then they are burned on the included incandescent lamps. Very buzzing. The cat catches these unfortunate half-dead hornets, I feel sorry for them, and I’m very afraid that they won’t bite ...
We have two huge lilacs growing in our dacha, and a family of hornets constantly lives on them. We do not touch them, but they do not touch us.They feed on food waste, berries, apples. During picnics, we treat them to barbecue. They fly up to the plate and bite off pieces of meat. We sit without moving - we are waiting for them to fly away with their prey to their nest. But after their appearance on our site, all insects disappeared: butterflies, wasps and other insect pests. Every year we collect a rich harvest.