Way of life, food, nest, contact and more

the essentials in brief

• Hornets are under nature protection and may not be hunted or killed.
• Hornets' nests must not be destroyed and only be relocated by a specialist if there is a valid reason.
• You can keep hornets away with clove or citrus oil.
• Hornets are carnivores and therefore very useful as pest killers.

Hornets are protected

Many people are afraid of hornets and are therefore tempted to kill the animals and destroy their nests. Both are strictly forbidden, however, because the insects are under nature protection. According to the regulations of both the Federal Species Protection Ordinance (BArtSchV) and the Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatSchG) you are not allowed to catch or kill hornets, and their nests are also allowed not be touched.

A specialist from the local environmental agency or the local environmental authority may only be contacted upon request and for a legitimate reason (e.g. allergy sufferers and / or small children in the family, nest right next to the main entrance). the fire brigade relocate the nest. If you do not adhere to these rules, you risk a high fine: Depending on the federal state, you can deliberately destroy one Hornets nest up to EUR 50,000 and a judicial criminal proceeding.

In any case, hornets, very different from wasps, are more peaceful, so you can secure a possible nest for the animals as well as for you and your family with just a few measures. This also includes the right rules of conduct.

Can you drive away hornets? the essentials in brief

• Catch hornets: Catching and injuring hornets is prohibited.
• Kill hornets: The targeted killing of hornets - including individual animals - is also prohibited.
• Hornet's Nest remove: Never even one Remove the hornet's nest and / or relocate. This may only be done by a qualified specialist upon application to the competent authority. Costs: around EUR 200 to 300, which you have to pay yourself.
• Drive hornets out of the apartment: turn off the light in the evening and open the window wide
• Prevent hornets in the apartment: Attach insect screens to doors and windows, popular entry holes in wooden cladding (e. B. on balcony and terrace), in wooden sheds and in roller shutter boxes
• Home remedies to ward off: Hornets like the scent of lemons and Cloves not, which is why you can preventively cut lemons and sprinkle with cloves and lay them out. Alternatively, clove oil also helps.

Appearance

The hornet belongs to the family of the real wasps

Hornets are the largest genus of the real wasps (lat. Vespa) and so far only occur in one species in Germany: the hornet (lat. Vespa crabro) was critically endangered until the 1970s and was on the Red List of critically endangered species for a long time. In the meantime, however, the population has recovered, so that hornets are now more common again locally. Hornets are significantly larger than their smaller relatives, the wasps, and are also characteristically reddish-brown and striped yellow. However, the coloration can vary in individuals without it being a subspecies of its own.

How big do hornets get?

The hornet queen reaches a length of up to 35 millimeters, but can only be seen outdoors until around June / beginning of July. The significantly smaller workers reach a length of up to 25 millimeters.

Differentiate between bees, wasps and hornets

The following table shows you how you can differentiate between bees, wasps and hornets based on their body length and color. Incidentally, in contrast to a widespread error and numerous depictions, for example in children's books, bees are not striped yellow and black. In fact, this is a typical wasp color, which is why Maya the Bee is actually a wasp (and not a honey bee!).

Possible confusion

In nature, mimicry is widely used as a protective mechanism, which is why not every red-brown striped and humming insect is actually a hornet. There are a number of insects that have adapted in their appearance to the large predator and can therefore easily be confused with it. The reason for this is probably that these species are less likely to fall victim to a predator (such as a real hornet).

These insect species look very similar to hornets:

• Middle wasp (Dolichovespula media): about the size of a hornet worker, but the back plate is drawn yellow-black and does not contain any reddish parts
• Hornet hawk (Sesia apiformis): in Central Europe a common butterfly, the adults of which have a wingspan of between 30 and 45 centimeters, have transparent wings and are yellow-black striped
• Keulhorn sawfly (Cimbicidae): different types of wasp-like hymenoptera, which are between 15 and 28 millimeters long, depending on the species, brightly colored yellow, brown-red or black
• Hornet Hoverflies (Volucella zonaria): Type of fly from the hoverfly family, 16 to 22 millimeters long and clearly red-yellow-black banded

background

Hornets are nocturnal

way of life

Hornets are very social animals that live in a common state consisting of around 300 to 700 animals. This consists of a queen who starts building the nest and laying eggs in spring, as well as those responsible for the supply of feed, brood care and the subsequent expansion of the nests Workers. The male drones, on the other hand, do not hatch until later in the year and are solely responsible for mating with the young queens. The way of life and the life cycle of the hornets is very similar to those of the Bumblebees, with these in turn no Hunter are.

How old do hornets get?

Similar to bumblebees, hornets do not get particularly old: As adults, the workers have an average life expectancy of around 30 to 40 days after development from egg to pupation, during which they go through five different stages, around five weeks take. The drones also only reach an age of a few weeks and then die off after mating. Only the queens can live to be up to a year old, and they are the only ones to hibernate and approximately - depending on the weather - leave their winter quarters from April or May and start building their nests kick off. All other animals in the hornet state die in October at the latest. Towards the end of each season, the old queen deliberately produces up to 200 eggs from which the young queens hatch. Only these hibernate, while the old queen is gradually being neglected by her workers and finally dies in autumn.

Where do hornets hibernate?

The young queens and the drones finally fly out to mate in late summer / autumn. The males then die while the females look for a sheltered place to hibernate. To do this, they like to dig themselves into loose earth, but also use dead or rotten wood. The animals wake up from around mid-April to early May Numbness and then go in search of a suitable nesting place.

Hornets overwinter in the ground or in rotten wood

How and where do hornets build their nests?

In the wild, hornets look for natural caves in the wood of rotten trees, but the animals increasingly use substitute caves in the vicinity of human settlements as cultural followers. Here you also prefer wooden caves, which you can find, for example, in the cladding of walls, in wooden sheds, but also in nesting boxes and bat boxes. Cozy places such as roller blind boxes are also very popular. In addition, the animals sometimes build in very bizarre places, for example in old rubber boots left in the garden.

The queen starts building the nest in May and uses rotten wood, which she chews well. From this she builds the first cells, in which she lays eggs immediately after completion and takes care of the brood. A queen creates around one or two such cells per day, so that the first workers usually hatch in June. Until then, the queen was solely responsible for building nests, caring for the brood and supplying the larvae with food, but the newly hatched workers now take on these tasks. From this point on, the queen is only responsible for laying eggs and is cared for by herself.

Drones and young queens finally hatch between September and October. Then the old queen and the remaining workers die, so that the nest is finally deserted and empty in autumn. Incidentally, hornets do not use an old nest a second time, but will be happy to build a new one near it next year.

What do hornets eat?

Hornets prefer to eat other, smaller insects

Hornets are insect hunters and do not feed on flower nectar like wasps or bees. Nevertheless, the large animals can often be found in the immediate vicinity of well-frequented flowering plants, as they wait for their prey here. A hornet colony eats an average of half a kilogram of insects per day. The following species are most commonly hunted:

• Flies (Diptera) such as house, meat, blow and gold flies
• Brakes and calf sticks
• Wasps
• Honey bees

Around 90 percent of the prey consists of flies and horseflies, and wasps are also caught more frequently. Because of this, there are few wasps in gardens where there is a hornet nest - the Hornets keep the population small here and the sugar robbers from your summer coffee table remote. Honey bees, on the other hand, only catch hornets occasionally - contrary to the assumption of many beekeepers - so that the damage to bee colonies remains low. Sometimes the hornets also prey on bumblebees, but only rarely.

It is mainly the larvae that feed on the protein-rich food. Adult hornets, on the other hand, prefer tree and plant sap, which is why they are often used Nibble on trees (for example, lilac is particularly popular) and watch windfalls can.

Drive away hornets

When the queen is looking for a nesting place in spring, she likes to get lost in apartments or the house. In this case, simply open two opposite windows so that the animals can find their way outside through the draft. At night hornets find their way out by themselves as soon as they switch off the light sources - which usually only lured the animals - and open the windows wide. However, mosquito nets installed on the doors and windows in good time reliably keep hornets and other insects away.

This old home remedy also helps to keep the big buzzers out of the living space:

1. Cut a fresh lemon into slices.
2. Put the slices on a small plate.
3. Sprinkle them with a few cloves.
4. Place the plates directly in front of windows, doors and on the patio or terrace. Balcony table.

Lemon with cloves is said to keep hornets and other insects away

By the way, this well-tried remedy not only reliably keeps hornets away, but also wasps. In order not to attract the animals, you should also remove windfalls in the garden promptly and always cover sugary foods and drinks outdoors.

Handle hornets correctly - avoid stings

Although hornets are not considered to be aggressive and escape rather than sting, the following precautionary measures should be observed in the vicinity of a nest:

• Maintain a safety distance of at least two (better more) meters
• Avoid hectic and fast movements around hornets
• Avoid vibrations (e.g. from mowing the lawn)
• Do not blow on or breathe in hornets
• Do not obstruct hornets in their flight path, especially not near the entrance hole

If you adhere to these rules, a peaceful coexistence between humans and hornets - without any stings - is possible.

Remove the hornet's nest

However, this coexistence is not possible or only with difficulty if the hornet colony has chosen a very unfavorable place to build their nests. Therefore, in exceptional cases, it is possible to remove it and relocate it, although you are not allowed to carry out this measure yourself! If you remove a hornet's nest yourself and without a permit, you can be fined up to EUR 50,000, depending on the federal state.

If a hornet's nest is to be removed, it is best to proceed as follows:

• Submit an application to the Environment Agency or the nature conservation authority of your district or Their city.
• Many of the applications are available on the Internet, where they can be downloaded and printed out.
• After the application has been submitted, a specialist will come to your home to check the actual risk posed by the hornet's nest.
• If this is the case, the application is approved and the nest can be removed by an exterminator, a specialist from the fire department or a beekeeper.

The costs of around 100 to 300 EUR are to be borne by you as the applicant. If the application is not approved, you can secure it yourself with the help of screens or flywire and thus reduce any possible risk. However, you can remove hornet nests yourself in autumn, as they will not be used again in the following year anyway.

The following article shows how such a relocation of a hornet's nest takes place:

Preventing hornets

So that the animals do not even settle in the spring, you should close possible loopholes such as cladding, false ceilings and roller shutter boxes. Instead, you can offer the insects - which are, after all, very useful for nature - a special hornet box in a quiet, secluded spot in the garden.

Digression

Can you smoke out hornets?

Can hornets sting?

According to an old popular saying, apply Hornet stings as particularly poisonous, so that life is said to be threatened after just a few bites. This assumption is wrong, because the hornet poison is no more dangerous than wasp or bee poison - especially since a bee releases considerably more poison with a single sting than a hornet. Thus is a Hornet sting no more dangerous than any other insect bite. In terms of pain, such a sting is often described as more painful than that of a wasp or a bee. However, this may be subjective as the large insect is also perceived as more threatening. In fact, hornets are very peace-loving and less aggressive animals and only sting if you get too close to their nest or if they are cornered.

How often can hornets sting?

The sting of hornets has no barb

Since hornets, unlike bees, do not have a barb on the sting, it does not get stuck in the skin. This means that a hornet can sting more than once, as they then continue to live and not die. To prevent this from happening in the first place, always keep a safe distance, especially from the nest, and do not make any hectic movements around a hornet. Don't even think of catching the animal in your hand or reaching for it.

What to do after a hornet sting?

Unless you have been stung in the mouth or throat or against wasps or wasps. If you are allergic to hornet poison, you do not need to see a doctor. The swelling subsides after a few days and is easy to treat yourself with a cooling gel from the pharmacy. However, further measures are not necessary.

Digression

Allergic reaction after a hornet sting - act correctly

frequently asked Questions

Do hornets like wasps also like sweets?

Hornets primarily hunt other insects, but they like sweet plant and tree saps. However, the animals rarely eat human food containing sugar and when they do, it is mostly to hunt the wasps there. However, they find windfall fruit very tempting, which is why you must always be careful when picking up apples and pears that have fallen on the ground - there could be hornets in them.

What are hornets good for?

The great hunters are very useful animals in the garden as they hunt many pests and pests - especially flies. In addition, the wasp population is often low in regions with many hornets.

Do hornets have natural enemies?

The caterpillars of the bumblebee nest moth (Aphomia sociella) are brood predators and feed on the clutches and the larvae of the hornets. The caterpillars of the butterfly from the family of the borer are active between August and April, whereby they - like the hornet queen - overwinter.

What can you do about hornet droppings?

Hornets make a lot of "dirt", which mostly accumulates under the nest and can lead to damage. To prevent this from happening, you can place a bucket or other container under the hornet's nest to catch the animals left behind.

Are there any other types of hornets?

For some years now, the Asian hornet (lat. Vespa velutina) in Europe. This species, originally native to East Asia, was probably brought here with imported goods and, thanks to the increasingly mild winters, finds ideal living conditions. The queens of the species can be up to three centimeters long and thus smaller than the native hornet species. The up to six centimeters long Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia) has not yet been proven in Europe. The oriental hornet (Vespa orientalis), on the other hand, occurs mainly in southern Europe.

Why do hornets throw out their larvae?

If hornets throw their larvae out of the nest, they are dead or non-viable larvae. This is particularly noticeable in autumn, when these can no longer pupate in time anyway.