Insect observation is a very interesting and fascinating process. Especially if the object of research is the common hornet. What distinguishes these creatures from ordinary wasps?
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Description of the hornet
Hornet - an arthropod insect belonging to the winged subspecies. The Latin name - Vespa crabro - can literally be translated as “wasp”.
Description of the species is appropriate to start with the differences between the hornet and wasp. The first are distinguished by a large head, the presence of three ordinary eyes and a pair of faceted ones. The color of the head of insects is yellow, red, brown, orange, black with yellow spots. Antenna antennae are located in the same part of the body, and their number differs depending on the gender of the insect.
Hornets - owners of a slender waist and a rounded abdomen. The color of the insects is similar to aspen, with the only difference being that the yellow and black hornet stripes are less bright.
The uterus and the female are equipped with a special ovipositor at the end of the abdomen. It is also a sting concurrently, which is pulled into the abdomen, so in the usual state it is difficult to track its presence in insects. The sting is smooth and straightforward, without chipping, unlike a bee, and therefore hornets are able to use their formidable weapons several times, like wasps. The sting ends in a poisonous gland.
The hornet has three pairs of legs, the color of which can be black, brown, yellow. The structure of the limbs is complex: they include the pelvis, thigh, trochanter, lower leg and legs. Thanks to the presence of 2 front and 2 rear wings, the hornets fly perfectly.
The average hornet size is 23-35 mm. And the largest individuals are the species Vespa mandarinia, growing up to 5.5 cm.
Where does the insect live?
More hornets inhabit the northern hemisphere of the Earth, however, they can live in other places. They can be traced in countries and continents with a temperate climate - Europe, Asia, North America, North Africa, etc.
Power Features
Hornet prefers plant foods. These creatures love to enjoy overripe fruits - plums, apples, pears. Nectar and honey insects are especially appreciated, because of which they can attack bee apiaries. If necessary, the hornet feeds on other insects - dragonflies, butterflies, flies, bees, wasps. Particularly aggressive varieties of hornets, usually tropical. They are able to destroy about 500 wasp and bee colonies.
Did you know? A species of Vespa bicolor hornets that lives on the expanses of Hainan Island, sometimes attacks local orchids. Scientists suggest that insects, attracted by their aroma, mistakenly perceive flowers as bees.
A victim killed by a hornet is thoroughly chewed until it becomes a suspension. This mass itself does not eat adult insects and serves as food for larvae, which during their growth are gluttonous. Often, adult hornets look for dead insects, digesting them for their offspring.
Nest building and breeding
Hornets are excellent builders and no less talented architects capable of building multi-tiered nests.
They have their dwellings in abandoned birdhouses, hollows of trees, in the attics of houses, in caves, and sometimes they can be hung on tree branches.
By color, the buildings are yellow, beige, brown. The shape of the nests is no less diverse: they can be spherical, pear-shaped or oval. The dimensions of the erected "palaces" reach a width of 40 cm and a height of 70 cm.
It is interesting! A number of varieties of eastern hornets are able to build real underground nests, which include a complex system of tunnels and entrances.
With the first warming, the queen queen flies around the territory, scouting places for the construction of the future nest. Finding it, she begins to build a honeycomb, placing an egg in each cell. After a few days, larvae hatch from the eggs, which after 2 weeks are transformed into pupae, and after 2 weeks - into an adult. The latter gnaw through the roof of the cell and get out. Already in June, newborn females become mature enough to help the queen finish building the combs, fly to feed the larvae and do other work.
Did you know? The process of creating a hornet wasp nest is a bit like making paper. And all because insects use the bark of trees or soft wood for building, chewing and fastening it with saliva. Next, the mass is applied to the nest. When solidified, it forms into something resembling paper. That is why hornets nests are also called "paper".
Hornets life span
The life span of a hornet wasp is largely dependent on the hierarchical stage at which the insect is located. So, working females live on average about a month, while males, having mated with the uterus, completely die after a couple of weeks. In this regard, they are not very different from praying mantises, who are also unlucky in the “matrimony”. The long-livers among the hornets are the uterus, able to survive the wintering and live up to 2 years.
Insect bite, poison and consequences
A person who has been bitten by a hornet should take a number of measures:
- Immediately take an antihistamine, for example, Suprastin, to prevent allergies.
- It is permissible to suck out the poison from the wound, however, it is relevant only in the first minutes after the bite. At the end of this time, the skin in the places of damage will begin to tighten, and exhaustion is pointless.
- A cold compress is applied to the bitten place to slow the spread of poison and relieve swelling.
- The affected area is lubricated with Fenistil gel.
- If the temperature of a bitten person begins to rise, it should not be knocked down until the indicators reach 38 ° C.
- After a hornet bite, do not drink alcohol.
- If the condition of the affected person worsens, an ambulance should be called immediately.
In general, the bite of an ordinary hornet is not much different from a bite of an ordinary bee. At the same time, the poison of most hornets is even less toxic, unlike bee. In addition, the sting of a hornet wasp does not remain at the site of the bite. Pain from such an “acquaintance” with insects is moderate.
However, for people who do not tolerate bee stings, hornets are also dangerous. A hornet bite provokes pain, accompanied by itching and redness of the skin, hyperthermia. In especially dangerous cases, it can cause acute allergies, accompanied by anaphylactic shock, which can be deadly to humans. Sometimes suppuration and even skin necrosis occur in a bitten place, which is understandable, because toxic substances are present in the hornet venom. The bites of the deplorable, Japanese and Asian hornets are considered the most dangerous.
Interesting Facts
Biting and potentially dangerous hornets insects are a wonderful research subject.
Here are some interesting facts about them:
- The size of the nest depends on the strength of the family - some buildings may include 10 or more tiers of honeycombs.
- In some countries, these insects are threatened with extinction and need to be protected.
- The poison secreted by the Asian species of hornet is considered more toxic than that secreted by European individuals. In addition, the "Asians" are much larger in size.
- Hornets are pretty friendly creatures. Attacking the enemy for self-defense, they are able to group and sting him with a whole nest.
- Sensing a potential threat, the hornet wasp releases a special pheromone - a kind of alarm. This particular substance mobilizes the remaining individuals to attack.
- Hornets - insects are not only friendly, but also aggressive. So, a person’s clothes, loose hair, some food seasonings (especially apple, banana flavors) or even the appearance of their dead counterparts can provoke their attack.
- The hornet family has a strict hierarchy. Each insect does the work assigned to it, depending on its status. So, working females are mainly engaged in obtaining food and building a nest. The males have a concern for procreation - they mate with the uterus and provide the appearance of new insects. The queen queen runs the entire friendly family and is engaged in laying eggs. When the ruler is aging and cannot fulfill her basic functions, she is expelled from the nest or killed, and a new uterus takes her place.
- The queen females born into the world have altered ovaries, and their functionality is suppressed by uterine pheromones. And only in its last laying the queen gives birth to females capable of continuing offspring.
- In rainy weather, females cannot leave the nest. During this period, the larvae share droplets of food with adults.
Hornets are hardworking and friendly insects. There is a clear hierarchy in their families: the activities of each individual are regulated by the queen queen. Nests of hornet wasps are real works of architecture that amaze with their impressiveness and beauty.
