Hornets are the largest social insects in Europe. At the head of this state is the Hornet Queen, without whom the people would not be able to survive. Queens can only be seen at certain times of the year and spend most of the warm months in the nest. You can recognize them by various characteristics.

The hornet queen is significantly larger than her workers

Table of Contents

Show all
  1. the essentials in brief
  2. Recognize Hornet Queen
  3. When does the hornet queen fly?
  4. Hornet Queen's sting and sting
  5. way of life and tasks
  6. nutrition
  7. frequently asked Questions

    8. the essentials in brief

    • A queen hornet is between 2.3 and 3.5 cm tall and, unlike her workers, has reddish-brown spots on her abdomen.
    • The hornet queen starts building the nest in the spring and lays and cares for the first eggs.
    • A dummy nest or essential oils such as clove oil can prevent the hornet queen from building a nest.
    • Hornet workers and their queen can sting multiple times; the sting of a hornet queen is extremely painful.

    How to recognize the hornet queen - size and other features

    The hornet queen differs significantly in appearance from that of the worker bee or drone. The sexes can be distinguished from one another on the basis of the characteristic features in the following table:

    Hornet Queen worker drone
    size 23 to 35 millimeters 18 to 25 millimeters 21 to 28 millimeters
    wingspan 44 to 48 millimeters 33 to 45 millimeters quite long in relation to body size, good fliers
    Weight 0.5 to 1.1 grams, depending on the season 0.5 to 0.6 grams 0.6 to 0.7 grams
    coloring like workers, distinguishable by red-brown spots on the abdomen black with reddish-brown markings and yellow abdomen darker than the worker
    spike about 4 millimeters 3.4 to 3.7 millimeters no sting
    Life expectancy 1 year three to four weeks one to four weeks

    A well-fed queen hornet can grow to almost 4cm

    It is striking that the hornet queen differs from her people mainly in terms of her size. The wide range in size development is due to the food supply in autumn and spring: the more food the queen finds during this time, the larger she becomes. Their weight also fluctuates very significantly depending on the season: If a well-fed queen hornet starts the season with a body weight of about one gram, she loses weight quickly due to the efforts of laying eggs and practically halves that by autumn.

    digression

    The largest hornet in the world lives in Japan

    Even if our native hornet queen may seem huge to you, the Asian giant hornet, which is primarily native to Japan, is even larger. With a body length of up to 55 millimeters, the species is considered the largest hornet species in the world and is about five times larger than the honey bee.

    When does the hornet queen fly?

    Only for a very short time of the year do you have the opportunity to see a queen hornet outdoors. The animals spend most of the year in the nest or in winter quarters. Between April and mid-May - sooner or later depending on the weather - the hornet queen leaves her winter quarters and soon begins building her nest.

    As soon as the first workers have hatched, they take over the foraging and brood care, so that the queen remains in the nest as head of state and is only busy laying eggs. Hornet queens are therefore not seen during the summer months. The young queens only fly out in September, mate and then look for a suitable winter quarters.

    youtube

    nest building

    After leaving the winter quarters, the hornet queen immediately looks for a suitable place for the future nest. This is often created near last year's nest, although old nests are not returned. So if you already had a hornet's nest in the garden last year, keep an eye out for the hornet queen's activities in this regard in the following spring. You can recognize this, for example, by the fact that the strikingly large hornet keeps flying to the same spot.

    Once the queen has found a suitable spot, she builds the hornet's nest out of rotten wood that has been carefully chewed and salivated. At the same time, an egg is laid in each completed comb, from which the first larvae finally hatch. These are initially cared for by the queen, but after about four weeks the first mature workers take over both the care of the other offspring and the building of the nest. From this point on, the hornet queen is only busy laying eggs and thus continuously ensures offspring. The queen lays about 40 eggs per day.

    Prevent nest building and drive away the hornet queen

    If you spot a single hornet in spring that is obviously busy building its nest, you can use gentle means to drive it away. This makes sense, for example, if the animal wants to place its home in the most unfavorable place possible - for example in a roller shutter box, under the canopy or near the terrace. Perfume the frequented spot with clove oil, a scent that hornets don't like at all, and seal the entry point with an impenetrable material. For example, densely meshed insect nets are very suitable for this, but also simple construction foam. Offer the hornet queen an alternative nesting opportunity in a safer place, for example in a hornet box.

    Despite their bad reputation, hornets are usually not dangerous

    digression

    Hornets are protected

    However, you must neither capture nor kill the hornet queen. Hornets - like all other wasp species - are protected by the Federal Nature Conservation Act, which is why catching and killing the animals can be punished with fines of up to EUR 50,000 depending on the federal state. For the same reason, you are not allowed to remove a hornet's nest that has already been built, but must obtain official approval for this. If this is granted - which only happens in exceptional cases - commission a specialist with the resettlement. This can be the fire brigade, a professional pest controller or even a beekeeper. You have to bear the costs yourself.

    Can the hornet queen sting?

    Since the stinger evolved from the laying apparatus, only female animals have one. Both the queen and the workers can sting, only the male drones cannot. The hornet queen's stinger is slightly longer than that of her worker, after all, the progenitor is about ten millimeters taller than the average subordinate. Unlike bees, hornets can sting multiple times. Incidentally, drones cannot sting, but they act as if threatened.

    How dangerous is a hornet bite?

    "Seven stings kill a horse, three a man and two a child." (Popular belief)

    The above "folk wisdom" is an ancient misconception that probably stems from the ancient custom of using hornets as a weapon of war. At that time, the animals were locked in sealed clay jars and thrown over the walls of besieged cities. There the vessels burst and the confused, frightened hornets stung en masse in terror. In fact, the "poison" of the hornet is no more harmful than that of a wasp, but chemically very similar to it. Only people who are allergic to wasp venom have to be careful with hornets, because this similarity often leads to cross-reactions. However, with a single sting, a honey bee emits a much higher dose of "poison" than a hornet, which is mostly due to the stinger remaining in the skin.

    First aid after a hornet bite

    Hornet stings often become very swollen

    The pain stimulus after a hornet sting is explained by the longer stinger, which penetrates deeper into the skin. However, the pain subsides quickly, especially if you cool it down as soon as possible. Clear, fresh water is very suitable for this. Alternatively, you can also apply Fenistil gel or a cream based on aloe vera. If you have an aloe vera plant at home, simply cut off a piece of a leaf and slice it open lengthways. Then place it on the stitch with the open inside facing down. A doctor's visit is only necessary if allergic symptoms become noticeable after a sting.

    way of life and tasks

    Queen and colony of hornets are busy between May and October, during which time each animal fulfills its assigned tasks. While the queen diligently lays eggs and takes care of the hierarchical order, the workers provide the food, take care of the offspring and guard the nest. The life cycle of the hornet follows a strict scheme.

    mating and reproduction

    Towards the end of summer, more and more so-called sexual animals hatch, these being the new young queens and the male drones. Depending on the strength of the hornet state, more or fewer new queens are produced, since most of them mate with only one or a few drones anyway. The young queens fly out of the nest from September and first eat up a supply for the winter. Only then do they arrive - usually on a sunny autumn morning - for the mating flight with the drones. The young queen then looks for suitable winter quarters as quickly as possible.

    death

    The drones, on the other hand, die a few days to weeks after mating. The old queen also breathes her last in October at the latest or is even killed by her workers. Finally - often with the onset of the first night frosts - the last workers die. This means that the hornet colony has been completely wiped out except for the wintering young queens. Only in the coming year do new colonies emerge from the “offspring”, provided they have survived the winter.

    wintering

    Immediately after mating, the young queens look for suitable winter quarters so as not to be surprised by a cold snap or eaten by a predator, such as a bird. They prefer the smallest cracks and crevices, for example in walls, but also dig tunnels in soft, rotten wood or bury themselves in the ground. These winter quarters are often located near the old nest and thus near human dwellings. Many of the young offspring queens do not survive the winter, freeze to death or fall victim to hungry birds or other predators.

    What does the queen hornet eat?

    Hornets are omnivores

    Hornets are exceptionally good hunters, with the workers in particular excelling as such. They are the ones who fetch protein-rich food for the larvae and also prey on wasps and other insects for this purpose. The adult hornets, on the other hand - and thus also the hornet queen - feed largely on plant juices and nectars, which is why the animals can often be found on succulent trees (e.g. lilac, willow, ash or birch) and are very fond of sweet fruit. However, unlike wasps, hornets are rarely attracted to human food.

    frequently asked Questions

    Do workers lay eggs too?

    In the hornet colony, the queen alone is responsible for laying eggs. However, the workers are not infertile, but have fully functional ovaries. However, these only produce eggs in very rare cases, since the workers themselves leave them without any function. Recent research has shown that by no means does the queen sterilize her workers with pheromones. If a worker does lay eggs, they are quickly discovered and eaten by the others. Only towards the end of summer, when the queen is not being cared for or is already dead, do hornet workers sometimes lay eggs. However, these can no longer develop properly due to the advanced season.

    How long do drones live?

    The male hornets - called drones - have a very short life expectancy of just a few weeks. They hatch towards the end of summer and die shortly after mating with the young queens.

    What happens to the hornet colony when the queen dies?

    A colony of hornets without a queen cannot survive, since the workers themselves only have a maximum life expectancy of four weeks and the queen is solely responsible for laying eggs. Should the queen actually die before the end of her lifetime - for example due to an infection - the workers also start laying eggs, but these are unfertilized (never mating took place!) and so only male hornets hatch. However, these cannot contribute to the survival of the hornet colony.

    How big can a hornet colony get?

    A colony of hornets is by no means as large as a colony of bees, but with a good supply of food and suitable weather it can certainly grow to 600 to 700 individual animals.

    Are carpenter bees also hornets?

    The carpenter bee - due to its similarity to the hornet - is colloquially referred to as the "black hornet", but actually belongs to the real bees and is therefore not closely related to the giant wasps. The warmth-loving insect can grow up to three centimeters long and is therefore the largest bee species found in Germany.

    tips

    Hornets are an endangered species and are therefore under strict protection. You can do something to help preserve this fascinating species by putting up special hornet boxes in the garden. The queen likes to use these to build nests and they also have the side effect that the animals do not settle near the house.

Category:

Animals in the garden