Hornet

One look at the hornet is enough to be frightened and horrified at the same time. We are used to the fact that insects are very tiny. But the hornet does not fit into our ideas. It's huge. Downright gigantic. Especially impressionable, he is able to scare to death by his appearance alone, not to mention the bite. But let's see if big wasps are really uncontrollably aggressive, and whether they are as useless as some believe.

How does a hornet differ from a bee

Visually confusing a hornet with a bee - a little hard worker - is almost impossible. However, these insects also have similar qualities. Firstly, they both sting, not bite, since both the bee and the hornet use a sting for this, and not other organs. It is noteworthy that in hornets, only the female has a sting. In the place where the weapon is located, the males have the “tools” necessary for breeding.

If we compare the structure of the sting of a bee and a female hornet, then it is fundamentally different. The bee is known to die by biting its prey. There are notches on her "weapon", and therefore it is not as easy to pull the bee "sword" out of the wound as we would like. But the hornet, biting the victim, easily pulls out the sting from the wound and continues to live on. Just like that, by the way, the insect will not attack. Females become enraged if it seems to them that a person or an animal is encroaching on their home. Basically, this is the only reason a big wasp might sting you.

How hornets live

Meeting a hornet in the kitchen during the warm season is not a problem. These impudents are greedy for sweets and meat. Therefore, as soon as the hostess begins to close the homemade preparations (jams, preserves and confitures), as soon as she takes to bake apple pies or marinate the kebab, the hornets are right there. Their level of insolence is exactly the same as that of a regular wasp. Hornets do not see any obstacles and warnings stopping on the way to the human kitchen. They smell the delicacies and see no obstacles in front of them.

Hornets nests

Large wasps, like small ones, make their nests from improvised paper. Of course, we are not talking about newspapers or paper for a printer. Big wasps use something else to build their homes. They pluck the thin bark from trees and bushes. They chew it and turn it into a material suitable for "sculpting" a house. Most often, birch bark is used as a building material. Therefore, at the exit, the nest is not white, but brown or gray. One gets the impression that the hornets have made a house out of stylized kraft paper. At least this is how it looks at first glance.

Locations of hornet nests:

an old abandoned barn;
garage;
tree hollow;
an abandoned birdhouse that the birds left;
niche under the deadwood;
depressions in the tree root system, which rises above the ground;
balcony or open veranda of a residential building.
Scientists who study the vital activity of hornets admire their architectural skills. The nest built by these insects reliably protects the larvae from the summer heat. Otherwise, the offspring may dry out. In addition, the walls of the house are waterproof. Those who live inside may not be afraid of the cold: the hornets have everything well thought out.