The largest social wasps: 22 species, most in tropical Asia. The European hornet grows to 35 mm and the Asian giant hornet to over 50 mm. They build paper nests from chewed wood, and they guard them aggressively. Males are docile and have no sting.
Quick answers
What is it?Insect
Carnivore?Yes
Dangerous?Can be
Single stings are rarely fatal except to allergic people, but multiple Asian giant hornet stings kill 30–50 people a year in Japan.
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Daytime
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?In places
In some Japanese mountain villages, Asian giant hornet larvae are a fried delicacy.
At a glance
Found inEurope, Asia, North America
ColoursBrown, Yellow, Black
SizeTiny
Length35 mm (European hornet) to over 50 mm (Asian giant hornet)
Legs6
Covered inExoskeleton
Lives incolonies
Lives for1 year
Can fly
Lays eggs
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Mainly Asia; the European hornet ranges across Europe to Siberia and was introduced to eastern North America. The Asian hornet is spreading in Europe.
- What it eats
- Asian giant hornet: larger insects, colonies of other social insects such as honey bees, tree sap and honey.
Did you know
Fewer than 50 Asian giant hornets can wipe out a honeybee colony of tens of thousands in a few hours.
Hornet venom contains a large amount (5%) of acetylcholine, which makes stings extra painful.
In temperate areas the nest dies over winter, and only lone queens survive, hibernating in leaf litter.
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