European hornet
Vespa crabro
pavloviv · Gagra, Abkhazia Georgia field photo
Key facts in one look
- Group
- Insect
- Family
- Vespidae
- Size
- Workers up to 25 mm, queens up to 35 mm
- Status in Georgia
- Confirmed in 5 regions
- Activity
- Day and night; spring–autumn
- IUCN
- Not Evaluated (NE)
The European hornet (Vespa crabro) is a large social wasp: queens reach 35 mm, workers 25 mm. In Georgia it lives in both the west and the east: in Abkhazia, Adjara and Imereti, and in Kakheti and Mtskheta-Mtianeti. Its head and thorax are reddish brown, and the rear of the abdomen is yellow. It also flies at night and sometimes comes to lights. It defends its nest and one hornet can sting several times, so keep away from the nest.
Identification
European hornet: how to identify it
The European hornet is a large wasp that also stands out by colour: its head and thorax are reddish brown, the front of the abdomen brown and the rear mostly yellow. This two-tone abdomen and the reddish thorax, together with its size, are the most reliable marks. It is most often confused with other large hornets and with hornet-like flies.
Workers are up to 25 mm long, while queens reach 35 mm and are larger than males and workers. Its size stands out even from a distance. Size alone still does not identify the species.
The head is red and yellow, and the thorax is dark red with brown and yellow patches. You can see this mark from a distance, even on a flying insect.
The front of the abdomen is brown and the rear mostly yellow with dark marks. This two-tone abdomen is one of the European hornet's main marks. Do not pick the insect up to see it.
In Georgia, especially in Tbilisi, the Oriental hornet (Vespa orientalis) is also known from photographs; it is lighter in colour than the European hornet. The queen of Dolichovespula media also resembles a European hornet worker. Judge the marks together and do not go close to a nest.
The hornet mimic hoverfly (Volucella zonaria) is harmless to people. It differs from the European hornet by its much larger eyes, broader body and lack of a sting. If you cannot tell them apart, simply move away calmly: that is enough either way.
Colour
The head is red and yellow, the thorax dark reddish brown with yellow and brown patches. The front of the abdomen is brown, the rear yellow with dark marks.
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
The European hornet nests in cavities, above all in hollow trees. It also uses wall voids, attics, sheds, bird boxes and beehives, and sometimes nests underground. So it lives wherever there are old trees or buildings: in woodland, orchards and settlements. In Georgia it is confirmed in five regions: Abkhazia, Adjara and Imereti in the west, and Kakheti and Mtskheta-Mtianeti in the east. From Tbilisi, Shida Kartli and a few other regions only single observations are known. Specimens were collected at Sataplia at 290 m and in Adjara at 318 m; these are only the elevations of the collecting sites, not the limits of its range.
In Georgia the European hornet is confirmed in five regions: Abkhazia, Adjara, Imereti, Kakheti and Mtskheta-Mtianeti. Regions are taken from the records-by-region table of public observations; a region counts as part of the range only when it has enough records.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
- Field observation
- Several records in one spot
- Photo record
- Confirmed region
The European hornet is a predator: it catches other wasps, honey bees, flies, butterflies, moths and spiders. It carries prey back to the nest and feeds its larvae only animal food, mostly insects. Adults themselves take tree sap, aphid honeydew and, in autumn, fallen fruit. To make sap flow, they strip rings of bark from ash and lilac twigs.
A European hornet colony lives for a single season. In spring, a mated queen that survived the winter starts the nest alone. In Britain queens appear from early April, the first workers in late June or early July, and males and new queens mostly in September. There the colony usually dies in October. Only mated queens survive the winter, in sheltered spots such as under the bark of fallen trees or in wall voids. In North America, where it was introduced, a nest at the season's peak usually holds 200–400 workers, and a large one up to 1,000. It also flies at night, forages by moonlight and sometimes comes to house lights.
The European hornet's global threat status has not been assessed (Not Evaluated). It is not on Georgia's 2014 Red List. In Germany it is a specially protected species by law. People introduced it to North America: it was first recorded there in 1840, in New York. In nature it preys on many insects, including flies and other wasps, but it also catches honey bees.
zj_adram · pavloviv · Giorgi Natsvlishvili · Arvidas Merkelis
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Yes. In Georgia it is confirmed in five regions: Abkhazia, Adjara, Imereti, Kakheti and Mtskheta-Mtianeti. That covers both the west and the east. Museum specimens were collected in 2019 at Sataplia near Kutaisi and in 2018 in Adjara. From Tbilisi, Shida Kartli, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Racha and Samtskhe-Javakheti there are only single observations: it was seen there, but that does not yet confirm a settled range.
For most people it is painful but not life-threatening: the pain is similar to a honey bee sting, and the venom is no more toxic than bee or wasp venom. The sting is smooth, so one hornet can sting several times. An allergic person, however, may develop a severe, life-threatening reaction. If you see signs of such a reaction, call 112 at once.
The European hornet is large: workers up to 25 mm, queens up to 35 mm. Its head and thorax are reddish brown, the front of the abdomen brown and the rear yellow. It also flies at night. The Oriental hornet and the queen of Dolichovespula media can look similar, so judge the marks together.
The European hornet is also active at night and forages by moonlight. At that time it sometimes comes to house lights. Do not try to catch a large hornet that flies in at night with your hands.
Yes. The European hornet catches honey bees, along with other wasps, flies, butterflies and spiders. It feeds the prey to its larvae. It sometimes nests in a beehive too. That makes it an insect beekeepers should watch for.
Above all in hollow trees, but also in wall voids, attics, sheds, bird boxes and beehives, and sometimes underground. A colony lives for one season, and only mated queens survive the winter. Do not touch a nest you find near your house. Read what to do in the wasp nest guide.
Not in Georgia: it is not on the 2014 Red List. Its global threat status has not been assessed (Not Evaluated). In Germany, however, it is a specially protected species by law. A missing assessment does not mean the species faces no threats.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
