is this a native hornet ?

[magicmistertea]

is this a native hornet ? i have more pics if needed.
I caught it in Cornwall today.
regards andy

[GCN lova]

its a queen wasp i think but i have no experience with queens.

[Jason Green]

Evening Andy, and welcome to WAB!

Yes, that's a native Hornet. It'll be a queen too, given the early time of year.

Love the collecting vessel - I use the blue-lidded version when nothing else is to hand!

Take care,

Jason

[magicmistertea]

thanks for replying jason..

just in case you were wondering i did let her free after i had finished working on the stone wall that she seemed to be flying in and out of... I have nver seen one this big before... really quite impressive !!
cool forum by the way

[JRsbugs]

Originally Posted by magicmistertea

thanks for replying jason..

just in case you were wondering i did let her free after i had finished working on the stone wall that she seemed to be flying in and out of... I have nver seen one this big before... really quite impressive !!
cool forum by the way

I'm pleased to see you let her go, they are gentle giants and wonderful creatures. Unfortunately some people panick and kill them which is a terrible shame. I have several species of wasps as well but none of them bother me, I can stand taking pics of them with not a worry as they fly past me to their nests.

The full title for this hornet is Vespa crabro ssp. vexator which has a yellow head instead of reddish, our own subspecies in the UK.

Janet

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by JRsbugs

I'm pleased to see you let her go, they are gentle giants and wonderful creatures. Unfortunately some people panick and kill them which is a terrible shame. I have several species of wasps as well but none of them bother me, I can stand taking pics of them with not a worry as they fly past me to their nests.

The full title for this hornet is Vespa crabro ssp. vexator which has a yellow head instead of reddish, our own subspecies in the UK.

Janet

I've often wondered if insects can smell fear. I used to HATE wasp with a vengeance, mainly because they seemed to hunt me down to sting me! In my later years my attitude has changed to the point where I really don't mind being very close to them. A couple of years ago I took this shot:


I had to get really close to get that shot, the focus distance was all of 2 inches or so.
There I had two wasps sitting on me, one on my nose, yet they didn't sting me, neither did I run away screaming so perhaps that has something to do with it!

[JRsbugs]

Originally Posted by glsammy

I've often wondered if insects can smell fear.

Funny enough I was going to say that myself! If you appear to be agitated it would make the wasps fear you as you would be a threat to their nest, so naturally they would attack.

Very good close up, I often get very close as queen wasps chew wood for their nests and they take no notice if you go slowly.