If your first reaction when you see a hornet is to reach for the fly swatter, you’re not alone.  Many people are scared of wasps, so when they see a wasp of giant proportions, they invariably want to get rid of it. There’s even the old myth that seven hornet-stings kill a horse, three an adult and two a child. The truth, as is so often the case, is very different.

Hornets will defend their nests, so it’s a good rule not to get too near one. If you do find yourself close to a nest, then avoid sudden or rapid movement and blocking the flight paths of the insects; just move gently away. If, on the other hand, you encounter a hornet away from its nest, there’s not much to worry about. Despite their size, hornets are really gentle giants, and prefer to avoid conflict if they possibly can.   If you do get stung there’s no need to panic. A typical hornet’s sting is considerably weaker than that of a honeybee, for a good reason. While honeybees have to defend their nests from sweet-toothed attackers keen to get at the honey, and so have stings suitable for attacking anything from a bear to a badger, hornets have no such need for a powerful sting. They are basically insect hunters, and have few natural predators.

Protected by Law   

Here in the UK they only occur in the southern half of the country, and are totally absent from Scotland, They can be found naturally right across Europe and Asia, even reaching Japan, but are never found north of the 63rd parallel. They are also widespread in the eastern USA, where they were introduced. They have declined in recent years in many western European countries: Germany values them sufficiently to give them full protection in law.  

Though they are never particularly numerous in England they are quite common in and around Bardwell. Last year hornets built a nest under the weatherboarding of my house, prompting our neighbours’ gardener to offer to get rid of them. I declined. They are major predators of flies, and many thousands of flies a day are caught and taken back to the nest to feed the larvae. There seems little point is using sprays, traps and flypapers to kill flies when there’s an army of hornets prepared to help you.    

Unlike wasps, hornets do fly late in the evening, and they are attracted to lights that tend to disorientate them. If you don’t want hornets in the house, either switch off the lights or shut the windows.     If you research hornets on the Internet, you will find no end of companies advertising ways of killing them. However, take a look at http://www.vespa-crabro.de/hornets.htm, as it explains that hornets are really gentle giants that are worthy of conservation, not elimination.