Hornet

[2dogs2000]

Last year I came upon a hornets nest and I was very wary about taking photos so all I got was some very, very, very distant ones.
When I came across some more hornets today I ventured a bit closer and got some decent photos (for me ).





Are they stripping the bark in the second photo? Does this do long term damage to the tree/sapling?

[Kittiwake]

Funny - I came on here today to post a couple or hornet pics too! They do strip tree bark apparently and it doesn't do the tree much good but the hornets need the sap at this time of year I guess (perhaps in the absence of any fuit trees in the vicinity).

I had a hornet nest in my roof last year, so spent all summer with the windows shut! This year, there's a hornet nest somewhere nearby but not in the house, thankfully.

Getting pictures is definitely tricky but I managed to find this one dragging its abdomen along on my doorstep, not looking too well, so I took the opportunity to get close!



Then I decided to try to perk it up by giving it a piece of pear (they spend a lot of time on my pear tree). It started eating straight away and, after a few minutes of constant feeding, it looked a lot brighter and started to fly around (at which point I beat a hasty retreat).

[tcvarlh]

Hornets won't hurt you, they are not aggressive, only near their nest and if you are overly loud.
Are they not wonderfully beautiful?
I didn't get a nest in the garden this year,
Got wasps instead
h