European Hornet

I started harvesting the seed heads of the sunflowers in our garden when I came across several European Hornets(Vespa crabro) on the sunflower stalks. The European Hornet is an introduced species first reported in the United States in 1840. The European Hornet is large and can reach over an inch long, with the queen reaching 1.5 inches. It is the only true hornet in North America.



European Hornets can be identified by the thin waist between the thorax and the abdomen. The European Hornets have "C" shaped complex eyes with three small ‘simple’ eyes, called "Ocelli" located on the forehead between the complex eyes. The Ocelli are used to detect movement.



European Hornets have large jaws that are used to chew bark from trees to build their nests. These Hornets have been known to "girdle" trees for sap and bark. The girdling may result in the death of the tree.



The Hornets were on the sunflower stalks for the sap. Here are two, much smaller yellow jackets trying to get some sap from the much larger Hornet.



A size comparison between a common house fly and a European Hornet.



Two European Hornets fighting to get sap from a sunflower stalk.



European Hornets will fight for food and to protect their nest, but they are also refereed to as “gentle giants”. I had this Hornet crawl over my hand and wrist for 5 minutes with no problems.