Hornet

Hornet (Vespa crabro), the largest species of wasp found in Britain. It is not uncommon in some parts of England, but is not found in Scotland. It measures about an inch in length, and is predominantly brown or brownish-red, with some yellow on head, abdomen, and wings. The insects lick the sap of trees and are very partial to sweet things, such as fruit, the secretion of aphides, &c. At times, however, they are markedly carnivorous. The females have formidable retractile stings. The nest, which is built in a hollow tree, in an outhouse, or in some other sheltered place, is composed of a coarse papery material manufactured from bark. The community of males, females, and workers is not supposed ever to include more than about 200 individuals, all of them the offspring of a single female, which, having survived the winter in some sheltered hiding-place, laid the foundation of her nest in spring. The hornet is common throughout Europe, and is represented in the United States by the Whitefaced Hornet (V. maculata), also a large species. See WASP.