Hornets?

[eucera]

I blame the hornetocidal activities promoted and encouraged by an unnamed local newspaper in your area as "a bit of fun" in Spring 2007 - scaring Boris Johnson's (then) constituents into believing that we had been invaded by giant killer hornets from the orient.

Seriously though, I have just studied my Salisbury garden findings of wasps for the last 3 weeks, and although I had hornets last year, have had none this year. Just shedloads of Dolichovespula media and the 2 smaller wasps Vespula germanica and V. vulgaris. V. germanica outnumbering V. vulgaris 2:1

[GuyF]

Well I can definetely say that they're not doing too badly down here in Dorset, waiting for me in the moth-trap this morning were 17 Hornets! Fortunately I was up quite early while the trap was still in the shade so they were all very docile, I don't think I would've liked it if there had been 17 angry Hornets trying to escape from the trap when I took off the lid!
Guy

[glsammy]

I go to a site that has in the past be very reliable for Hornets. One particular tree has had a Hornets nest in it for the last three years at least. Not so this year. Nothing, no sign of any around.

[Kittiwake]

I've got some fruit trees in the garden - one of the apple trees has at least 5 hornets on it every afternoon at the moment. They ignore all of the fruit trees except this one, which I think is a Russet apple tree.

I've had a "giant" wasp coming into the house over the past few weeks too. I'm no wasp expert, so I wondered if anyone could tell me what it is? It looks like a normal wasp, only much larger - but not quite as big as a hornet.

[LindaB]

Originally Posted by Kittiwake

I've got some fruit trees in the garden - one of the apple trees has at least 5 hornets on it every afternoon at the moment. They ignore all of the fruit trees except this one, which I think is a Russet apple tree.

I've had a "giant" wasp coming into the house over the past few weeks too. I'm no wasp expert, so I wondered if anyone could tell me what it is? It looks like a normal wasp, only much larger - but not quite as big as a hornet.

It could be one of the large hoverflies that are around at the moment - two in particular that I have seen a reasonable number of are Volucella Inanis and Volucella Zonaria, the latter is a fair size and could be mistaken for a large 'strange wasp' or indeed a hornet because of the chestnut colouring on it.

Linda

[squodgy]

Hi everyone,
I'm new to this & find it fascinating. It's July 2009.
Just thought I'd report a HORNET (Vespa Crabro) sighted at the woodland campsite at Symands Yat on the English/Welsh border on the River Wye.
Quite a ways from Kent????
All the more interesting after two lousy summers. We last saw one in a pub in Horndean in the summer of 2002.
Is anyone documenting the spread of these intriguing beauties ??