Species of Hornets Found in America

Hornets are large members of the wasp family Vespidae that belong to the genus Vespa. Around 20 species of hornet exist, with almost all of them being native to Asia. The European hornet (Vespa crabro), however, is the only species to range beyond Asia and is found in Africa, Europe and North America. It is the only species of true hornet to be found in the U.S.

  1. Description

    • European hornets are large insects that grow to 1 1/2 inches in length. They have hairless bodies with dark brown-and-yellow banded markings. The queen hornets, when out in the spring, are more reddish in color and slightly larger than workers. The worker hornets have stingers at the tips of their abdomens and will defend the nest but are not as aggressive as some other U.S. wasp or yellow jacket species.

    Range and Habitat

    • The European hornet was first recorded in New York state in 1840. Since then the insect has spread south and westward down into Florida and toward Louisiana and the Dakotas. It is an adaptable species and can live almost anywhere with suitable nesting sites. It is active during spring and summer and goes into hibernation when the weather becomes colder. Beyond the U.S., the species has a wide geographical range.

    Diet and Threats

    • European hornets are predatory insects, and the workers spend most of their time hunting. They will bring back to the nest a variety of insects, including yellow jackets, bees, grasshoppers and flies. Tree sap is also harvested and brought back to feed to larvae and the queen. To make the nests, tree bark is stripped from twigs and branches and used to make a papery building material. One of the main threats to the species is humans, who see them as a pest and will destroy nests located around dwellings.

    Life Cycle

    • In the spring, the already pregnant queens come out of hibernation and seek out locations for nests, often within tree hollows, voids in house walls and sometimes underground. A queen will chew plant material into a cellulose papery substance and form a few chambers in which she lays eggs. These eggs are cared for through the hatching and larvae stages. Once they emerge as grown female worker hornets, they will take over the building of the nest and the feeding of young. The nest grows in size and numbers through the season until late summer, when fertile males and females are born. These fertile hornets mate before the males die off and the females go into hibernation. The next spring the process begins anew.