What do Hornets Ever do for Us?

Here in the Touraine Loire Valley we co-exist with two species of hornet. Hornets, for those of you unfamiliar with the beasts, are gigantic wasps. 

 

European Hornet predating a European Wasp Vespula germanica on our back doormat.

 

One of the species in the Touraine is the Yellow-legged Asian Hornet Vespa vetulina (Fr. Frelon asiatique). They are non-native and have colonised the whole of France in under two decades. Now abundant, everyone hates them, especially beekeepers, but no successful and sustainable method of controlling them has been developed, so we all just have to live with them as best we can. I find ignoring them completely works quite well, except when they are predating the feral honey bee colony in our courtyard wall. Then their behaviour is just too fascinating to ignore.

 

European Hornet at its nest entry in a tree stump. Minutes earlier I had actually put my hand inside without realising there was a hornets' nest. The hornets did not react in any way.

 

The second species of hornet here is the European Hornet Vespa crabro (Fr. Frelon européen). Sadly, not everyone can tell them apart, and all of a sudden anything even vaguely hornety is considered fair game and something to panic about. So, once again, for those of you confused about how to tell the difference -- European Hornets are yellow and chestnut brown, and very big, as insects go; Yellow-legged Asian Hornets are mostly black, with a couple of orangey yellow bands on the abdomen, and they are quite big, but not as big as European Hornets. Yellow-legged Asian Hornets have bright yellow legs, European Hornets have chestnut brown legs. Neither of these two species should be confused with Oriental Hornets V. orientalis (only in a few places in the south of France) or Asian Giant Hornets V. mandarinia (not in Europe at all), or Median Wasps Dolichovespula media. Most picture editors working in social or mainstream media can't tell one species of hornet from another, or indeed tell a hornet from a wasp, and so there is an awful lot of nonsense and misidentification online.

 

A European Hornet being put outside. I had offered it a towel to sit on and it felt secure.

 

So why should we learn the difference and be careful to cherish our European Hornets rather than fear and kill them?

• They are part of our natural biodiversity in the Touraine, and given the biodiversity crisis we are currently in, we need to protect all our native species to ensure a stable and resilient ecology in the face of climate change and habitat destruction. 
• Specifically, they are predators, and maintaining predators is a key part of maintaining a stable ecology. Predators do not have to be creatures with fur and fangs.
  
• They are good pollinators.
• They are rarely aggressive to humans (unless they feel their nest is threatened).
• Their nests are not long lasting, so the colony will die off over winter without you intervening with traps or poison. Save your money and effort.
  
• They predate wasps (and you are much more likely to be stung by a wasp than a hornet). 
• If you expect people in other countries to live alongside wildlife such as lions, bears or elephants without harming them then you should be able to tolerate large generally inoffensive insects going about their business in your presence.
• If you remove a predator species such as hornets you will then struggle to control their prey (eg fly maggots, sawfly grubs, moth caterpillars, other grubs, various insects).
• If you poison them what else are you harming?
• They will beat up on any Yellow-legged Asian Hornet entering their territory and trying to compete for prey. 

 

European Hornet in our attic. They fly both day and night if the weather is warm, and are attracted to lights, so often come in open windows on summer nights.

 

If you are a gardener, hornets are not a menace, but an ally, keeping your garden biodiversity balanced, and pollinating your flowers. They might be fierce looking, but just let them be and they will do the same for you. 

Further reading: My blog post about Yellow-legged Asian Hornets, their lookalikes, and what to do about them  https://daysontheclaise.blogspot.com/2012/09/what-to-do-about-asian-hornets.html

My species page on European Hornet on Loire Valley Nature  https://loirenature.blogspot.com/2013/12/european-hornet-vespa-crabro.html 

All photos from our archives and taken by me.