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Giant Hornet

Big Blue SkyBig Blue Sky Posts: 716
in Wildlife gardening
We caught this gigantic hornet in our conservatory today. Is this the feared Asian Giant Hornet? 



It is incredibly big and noisy. Never seen anything like this. 
Surrey
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  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Where’s @wild edges ... he might know 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Looks like a standard european hornet to me. Probably a queen if it's bigger than normal. Asians are smaller than ours anyway.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • Big Blue SkyBig Blue Sky Posts: 716
    Thank you @wild edges 
    Yes, I think that’s what it is. I also looked up the difference, to remember for the next time

    ” The Hornet is a large social wasp that has a brown thorax and brown and yellow stripes on its body, rather than black and yellow. It has an obvious 'waist' between the thorax and abdomen. The similar-looking Asian Hornet has recently arrived in the UK, but has a mainly brown abdomen except for one yellow segment. It is smaller than our native Hornet”
    Surrey
  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718
    If you give your hornets pocket money, @Big Blue Sky, no wonder they gather in your conservatory!
    Rutland, England
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    We had a queen hornet in today as well. I guess they're beginning to wake up. They are a useful and important species - the European ones - you should let them go about their business if you can. Not always possible when they are in the house but if you can catch them you should release them.
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited May 2021
    They are beautiful and fascinating creatures ... and not at all aggressive towards humans unless you invade their nest. 😃 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    Just dopey things that end up on the floor at night. I have a horror of one of the dogs stepping on one
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    They come into the house if you have a light on and the windows open ... they’re drawn to light ... if you close the window and don’t pull the curtains together they’ll fly at the windows ... you can hear them tapping to be let in 😆 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    I know - we leave the kitchen light on at night to stop the dog crying. But when I open the back door to let her out for a pee they are often still crawling over it, then they fall off because they are cold. We have to swap to a very dim night light for the few months that the hornets are about. The worst was the year when they were nesting in one of the bird boxes on the house wall. Poor dog used to go and hide in the larder when there was one buzzing about
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I'd love to see one.
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