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www.hornissenschutz.de
www.vespa-crabro.de
- updated 2023-02-24 -

Some E-Mails


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(Photo: Dr. Elmar Billig)

  • Date: 2009-10-24 Hello, I would like very much to congratulate you on your web site. I have had hornets living with me, in the roof of our home near Oxford, England, this summer, and they have you to thank for their survival. I first noticed that we had hornets in mid-summer, with one or two appearing at lights both indoors and out. Looking around the house I discovered their nest in an relatively isolated part of the roof. The nest at that time appeared to be only half constructed. My initial reaction was one of panic, and immediately visited the local hardware store to purchase large quantities of powder and foam wasp killer. However, I decided that I would research these beautiful creatures on the web before doing anything and I am really glad that I did. The foam and powder remains unused.

    The information on your web site gave me the confidence to observe and photograph right up until now when the new queens have emerged - in large quantities, and when the nest is finally vacated, I am hoping to be able to remove it carefully for close examination.
    I attach a few photographs I have taken. The ones of the hornets themselves were taken in beautiful early morning sunlight, when they were still a little chilled by the night air.

    Best regards
    Ian West

 

  • Date: 2008-11-22 Ron Hello Hornet Lover, I emailed you earlier this year to say Hornets had taken up home our bird box. They could not have been better behaved guests. My wife would hang out the washing just 2 meters from them, we would pass by them within 1 - 2 meters daily and our grand children would play beneath them. On a few occasions one would come and look at us but at no time did they show antagonism towards us. We found them more interesting than birds in the box and less mess. We hope they will return again some time but beleive they do not use the same place twice. Out next door neighbour accused them of terrifying her cat, it tried to catch one without success. other than that zero problems.
    Ron. (at Petersfield)

 

  • Date: 2007-05-07 jane clowes jane.clowes@ntlworld.com Hi. just read your web site after seeking out information on hornets. What a great site, it made very interesting reading i`m now going to bore everyone with my new found knowledge. I live in the Nottingham area of England, my daughter killed a hornet which i believe to be a female vespa crabro vexator (see how much i know already). I wanted to know more about the species as you do hear alot of myth surrounding them. It has certainly opened my eyes.I`ll tell everyone now. thanks very much.
    jane

 

  • Date: 2006-02-24 17:06:33 Darlene Vant Woude Ray annaray88@hotmail.com
    This has got to be absolutely best web site on anything I have ever found. I teach gardening and your information is by far fantastic. Just amzing. Great job. Thank you!!!!

 

  • Date: 2005-05-14 12:19:42 jane hollingworth  janehollingworth@supanet.com
    thank you for this wonderful site. i love wasps and hornets and have had them living in my flat and i can't understand why people are so hostile to them. we need to educate the world and this site is a very good start. keep up the good work

 

  • Date: 2005-02-25 22:12:50 Jim Garner mandjgarner@earthlink.net
    Just looked at your hornet website. Best thing I have ever found!!!!
    JimG

 

  • Dear Sirs: We found a hornet's nest in a tree not far from our home out in the country. We live in Pilot Grove, Missouri. I had hung it in our basement but wanted to show it to our group of preschoolers for "show and tell". I wanted to tell them as much as possible about them (hornets) because the children are very interested in learning. So I came upon your site. Well! It exceeded my expectations. I learned so much! I printed some of the pictures to take tomorrow for class. I will let you know how the kids reacted . I am so excited!
    Thank you very much.
    Sincerely,
    Jane Twenter MSW
    Pilot Grove Preschool
    Pilot Grove, Missouri 65276

 

  • Thank you for your lovely web page. Today I saw a hornet in the  Bare forest,by the big lake and I  was very firghtened but now I have read your page, I'm am only a little frightened.

    Jasmine, age 7
    katana11@btinternet.com

 

  • Date: 2002-07-10
    by the best site in the world, love every picture, wish discovery channel made more programmes on these hornets, want to see them in action against bees and wasps, they make such a good sight, yes a bit violent for some but that is nature's way.

    saleem khan  salkhan8@aol.com

 

  • Date: 2002- 01-02
    Thank you for such a clear and concise web-site.  My seven year old is taking a nest to school today to share with his class and your page on Bald-Faced Hornets is exactly the information he need, written in a way that he can understand.
    Thank you!
    Erin Begerow begerow@mindspring.com

 

  • Date: 2001-10-05
    Thank you so much for your very informative (and nicely written!) website
    on hornets. I am working with the teachers of young children who wanted to know the difference between honeybees, wasps, and hornets. As I myself am a beekeeper, I was also very interested. I was fascinated to learn that hornets, like honeybees, are basically gentle. I have not seen many; unfortunately, most of my experience (other than with bees) has been with the rather fierce yellow jacket wasp, which is very common in human habitations on the east coast of the US. Keep up the good work!

    Lyndall Miller lmiller_acaje@yahoo.com

 

  • Date: 2001-07-21
    Thank you so much for the information you presented on your web page. My husband and I live in Northern California, USA in an old mining town of Nevada City. We discovered our hornets nest while cleaning our property for a party next weekend. You have enlighted me and we will not take the nest down but advise our guests as to its where abouts and not to disturbe it.

    Thank you, Charlene (Charlie) Potts. dickncharlie@jps.net

 

  • Date: 2001-07-20
    Hello,
    Your website about Vespa crabro germana is excellent. I found a hornet nest under our elevated sunroom today. The internet has much information about the hornets, unfortunately many deal with extermination. My wife and I live in a wooded area next to a National Forest in southern Illinois, USA. We enjoy having the diversity of creatures that inhabit the woods surrounding our home, even the rattlesnakes. So it was a pleasure to visit a website about the hornets that spoke of protection of these creatures and their benefits. We are planning on letting them have their nest under our sunroom and I'm sure we will have a lot of fun watching them. If you could let us know of any precautions we should take while they are nesting here, please let me know.

    Sincerely,

    Tony Jones organicform@go.com
    3310 HWY 127, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA

 

  • Date: 2001-06-11/23:15
    After finding a large nest in a tree cavity at my place on the river here in Eastern Tennesse I decided to find out the species. Imagine my surprise when I checked your web site. They were European Hornets and we will let them thrive in peace as the nest is somewhat removed from our public areas. Great site.
    Thanks,
    Gary Ford fordgf@planetc.com

 

  • I am a 28 year old painter working in south west England and last week I experienced my first hornet (probably a queen, judging by the size of it). A truly magnificant beast of an insect. I had to research further, and found your site both interesting and informative.
    Paul Rowe r0wey@aol.com 

 

  • THANK YOU FOR A FANTASTIC PAGE!
    I was noticing hornets enter a crack in my wooden fence and wondered
    whether they were building a nest there, but after some time I realized that that was not their intent and started research into hornets. I tried the Britannica and the information there was inadequate. your website was just what I was looking for.

    Thanks, Fred Wilson

 

  • mailto: hardings@nationwideisp.net
    Thank you for producing such an excellent website on the hornet. Yesterday I found a very large wasp (nearly 40mm body length) which I removed from a building and released about 250m away. Today she has returned and is building a nest, she is a queen! With the information from your site I realise she is a hornet, and although I am a 41year old country boy have never seen one before. The nest is now protected from harm. The site of the nest is in a village called "Dunsfold" some 20km from Guildford in Surrey. I have included some pictures, slightly out of focus I'm afraid.
    Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the pictures
    picture 1 picture2 picture3 picture 4

    Mark Harding

 

  • ross almailto:ross_48640@yahoo.com]

    Your web page is a work of art! I have been raising and studying vespid social wasps all my life and am planning on going to college to become a wasp biologist. I have raised many Dolichovespula Maculata colonies as well as countless vespula colonies.D. Maculata seems to thrive both in my huge nesting cages indoors and also in my vespiary.The main reason I am composing this letter is to inquire about sending me some colonies of Vespa Orientalis and Vespa mandarinia also a colony of vespula rufa.If you can not ship me these colonies than please point me in the right direction to obtain these wasps.I will be more than happy to pay what ever shipping charge is involved.Also my research partner has an import liscense if that is needed.please get back to me as soon as possible on this.Again the web sight is spectacular! thank you.

 

  • William T. Prouty HORNETBOY'S HOMEPAGE in Tulsa, Oklahoma wrote:
    Hello. I love your website!!! I am willing to pay someone money to ship me a vacated hornets' nest which is unusually large and in good condition. I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the USA. Thanks!

 

  • I must congratulate you on your Website - I found it very informative. You might be interested in a recent experience I have had with Hornets. I have just returned from holiday in France - I have an old house in the region of Auvergne in the Mont de Forest. I first noticed lots of small "maggots" on the floor of the kitchen and I could not understand why they kept reappearing after I had disposed of them. I then discovered that they were falling down from the loft! This worried me as I thought that there might be a dead rat or something in the loft.  I inspected the loft and was shocked to see a very large Hornets nest in the corner with a number of large Hornets flying around. The nest measured  about 90cm high and 60cm wide and there was a large mound of waste and (I thought) maggots beneath the nest. I have to admit that I felt the nest was dangerous and a health hazzard. I contacted the local Fire Brigade who disposed of the nest and, I am afraid, destroyed the Hornets. After reading your Website I feel very guilty that  I was responsible for destroying the Hornets - I can only say that it was due to ignorance on my part. Your Website has convinced me that Hornets are not dangerous and in fact they are fantastic insects. I will not be frightened if they return - but I doubt if they will? I hope this is of interest to you. Good luck with your "crusade" to protect the Hornet.
    John Grout

 

  • Dear Dieter,

    very much enjoyed reading "Hornets -- Gentle Giants" on your web site. I was pleased to learn about the European Hornet, and found your write-up to be more informative than info-sites from the United States university entomology web sites.European Hornets are my neighbors in my village: Syria, Madison County, Virginia USA. Occassionally, they come in to my house by accident and terrify my dog (who weighs 100 pounds). I have not yet found a European Hornet nest nearby, and hope that there is not one nearby.I was interested in learning more about this BIG BUG precisely because they are so large and intimidating, and I had not seen them before coming to Virginia. We also have about a zillion Baldface Hornets this year, which I like because they are (to me) fairly placid and non-aggressive. Also, the Baldfaces are very helpful for fly control (I live near a cow farm).

    Nice work!

    Best regards from:
    Susie Wimberly,Reilly O'Dog, Moxxie Roo Roobert (the endurance Beagle) and EA Tezzeray the WonderHorse (a/k/a the Axe Murderer)

  • Date: 1999-10-28/20:47
    George Smith (geo_smith@lineone.net / no homepage ) wrote:

    I first met the Oriental Hornet on holiday in Cephalonia 2 weeks ago and was captivated. The nest was in a hole in the ground and activity was constant. In the morning the nest was in shade but in the heat of the day it was completely exposed and the hornets lined up 4 abreast at the entrance and furiously flapped their wings, I presume they were sending cool air into the nest. They worked in shifts as they did when widening the nest hole.A truly fascinating experience.
    Thanks for your excellent website.

    Regards George Smith

 

  • Date: 1999-09-05/17:41
    Nick Crettier (ncphoto@rma.edu / no homepage ) wrote:

    Yours is the most complete reference on hornets I have found. I live in the mountains of Virginia (US) and recently my house has been invaded by hornets. I don't know if it's the drought or what but I wanted to learn more about them rather than just kill them. The only thing is I can't find their nest. So far neither me nor my family have been stung by one but they look so threatening that it's hard not to be intimidated by their presence. But I've learned that they do more good than harm and if we're patient they will soon be gone. Thanks for your site.

    Nick Crettier
    Front Royal VA

 

  • Date: 1999-08-21/19:18
    Dale Harris (no email / no homepage ) wrote:

    Dear sirs: just found your fascinating web page on European Hornets today and wanted to let you know that I enjoyed it. I live in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in the USA and I became interested in wasps when one day my son was mowing the grass in our yard and he mowed over a yellow-jacket nest and they started flying out of the ground. I did not know what they were but learned about them. We also have the Bald-Faced Hornet here and it is quite common. When all the leaves fell off the trees last fall I discovered a large nest hanging in a tree in the woods close to my house. I sometimes see workers land on my wooden deck and scrape wood off to use for nest building. One spring a large queen Bald-Faced Hornet, just coming out of hibernation, spent the night in my garage.
    From what I read, the European Hornet is doing well in the USA. I think it is found in almost every state east of the Mississippi River and on some west of it. Iowa's eastern border is the Mississippi and Cedar Rapids is in eastern Iowa so I am hoping to one day see a European Hornet here.
    People here do not like wasps, either and feel they should be killed immediately. I tell people that they are beneficial and only sting when provoked or feel their nest is threatened.
    Well, gotta go so once again wanted to let you know I enjoyed the web site.
    Sincerely, Dale Harris

 

  • Date: 1999-08-21/19:14
    John Bernard (shelloak@tnaccess.com / no homepage ) wrote:

    You have a wonderful site. I learned more here on the hornet than any other site I have been to, thanks so much for haveing this place for me to learn from. I live in the country of Tennessee, U.S.A. and have many kinds of hornets living here, but I did not know that hornets only ate the one part of the insect, but I did know that they eat fruit as they are on my fruit trees every night, they get more than I do. John Bernard

 

  • Date: 1999-06-02/14:25
    Tom Hagan thagan@cris.com  wrote:

    I have a new hornet nest in my yard. After seeing your site, I have decided watch it grow rather than destroy it. Thanks for your very informative site.
    Tom Hagan

 

  • Date: 1999-05-11/22:39
    J. Craig Shelton (jshelton@lcc.net / no homepage ) wrote:

    I really enjoyed your fascinating website. The pictures were of excellent quality and the narrative was quite interesting. As rare as the Vespa crabro germana is in your country, the European Hornet (as it is known in the United States), is an even more rare find. The Vespa crabro germana was imported here by accident in the mid 1800s and has established itself somewhat on our eastern coastline states. Nests are rarely found however and the only evidence of them being here is that they will occaisionally fly into windows of houses at night.

    Sincerely,

    Craig Shelton
    Houston, Texas (United States of America)

 

  • Date: 1999-04-25/00:10
    Kevin Foster (bob97krf@sheffield.ac.uk / http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/projects/taplab/kfoster.html ) wrote:

    Hello,
    I am an English Ph.D student. I study the genetic and reproductive behaviour of wasps including the hornet Vepsa crabro. I have a web page(see below) but no nice pictures of hornets. I was wondering whether you would mind me using one of your lovely pictures on my web site so that people know what my study species looks like.
    Yours
    Kevin

 

  • Date: 1998-11-16/09:05
    Dr. Antony Van Eeten (BDSc)Mel (panther@bluep.com / no homepage ) wrote:

    From Peter van Eeten,
    Hello I'm from Australia and have just read your webpage. In our country everybody is trying to kill the introduced German wasp "Vespula Germanica". Though I really liked your webpage as their are no Hornets to study here and there is not much information on them. The majority of people think only that wasps should be killed and it is good to see that there are people like you two destroying those idiotic prejudices about those wonderfull insects. Even though the language may have been a bit wrong in your article I really liked the use of words such as "grab birds" and "booty". I would really like to observe Hornets but unfortunately their are none in Australia. There are only two from Europe: Vespula germanica and Vespula vulgaris. Would the Hornet be usefull to introduce into Australia as I have read that it kills pest species of wasps called "yellow jackets" or the two species I have mentioned previously. Maybe it just would become a pest but I wouldn't care because it is a really interesting insect.Anyway keep up the good work in protecting these wonderfull insects who have an undeserved bad name. hope to hear from you again!
    Dr. Antony Van Eeten (BDSc)Melbourne Vic Aus.

 

  • Paris le 16/12/1999 J'ai beaucoup apprécié votre site sur les frelons, j'étudie et élève les guêpes sociales et frelons depuis que j'ai l'age de 5 ans. Aujourd'hui je travail sur le comportement de ces insectes, et j'interviens dans les parcs d'attractions pour chercher et détruire les nids (Vespula Germanica and Vulgaris)qui posent problème. Par contre je communique positivement en ce qui concerne les frelons, et je transfert les nids quand ils sont mal placés.L'été prochain je vais certainement aller travailler en Grèce car ils ont beaucoup de problèmes avec les guêpes (V.Germanica).Il y a aussi beaucoup de Frelons et je vais ramener les reines que je capturerais ainsi que les petits nids que je reinstallerai en France. Si vous êtes intérresser par mon action,vous pouvez me contacter.J' éspère que vous comprenez un peu le Francais! A BIENTÖT
    Charles-Henri Le Tonqueze An Hornet friend
    VivendiC26@aol.com
    charles_lt@hotmail.com

 

  • Robert Gustaf Bullock (robertgustaf@netscapeonline.co.uk / no homepage ) wrote:

    I must congratulate you on the quality of your website it is very informative indeed. However, I write primarily to find out the answer to a question which has worried me for some time. Five years ago in my garden in the South of England I saw an insect which I have never seen before or since. I observed its arrival as it made the loud droning noise common to a hornet. I then watched it for fifteen to twenty minutes whilst it stayed stock still on the railings. I did not approach closer than one metre as it seemed so fearsome to me. I distinctly remember that it was no shorter than 5cm and looked truly giant. It had large red eyes which were closest to burgundy and crimson in hue. But most disquieting and unique its thorax (which I saw measured in excess of 3.5mm and had a hornet's or wasp's yellow and black stripes) did not taper down to its tail but remained exactly the same width / girth virtually right up to its tail. I also remember that the thorax seemed to be closely joined with the rest of its body and so it lacked the narrow waist of a wasp. I would be very grateful to find out what it was especially my best guess is that it was an outsize queen hornet. However, I would like to hear your opinion or perhaps see a picture of what it was that I saw.

 

  • Date: 2000-06-03/16:48
    Medio Caucci (no email / no homepage ) wrote:

    A most excellent site.
    Thank you from Rochester, New York.
    Medio Caucci

 

  • Hello!

    I want to tell you that I enjoyed the information on your web page very much! I felt it was a very well laid out page, it had lots of large and detailed pictures, and the information was very easy to read and straight-forward. (I only speak english; no german. I assumed this was created by an english-only author until I read the statements at the end of the entire document.) I've got a hornet nest very close to my house, which was the reason I was searching for information. I wanted to know if they slept at night, how likely an attack would be, and what some likely nest locations would be. I quickly got answers to all of these questions on your page.

    I was going to destroy the nest, but after reading this page I am getting the idea that maybe the hornets are keeping other pests away. Since the hornets never bothered me and are quite interesting to watch I think I'll leave them alone.

    I have noticed a few smaller, black wasps in the area in addition to the many many yellow and black hornets. I am not too concerned about the hornets, because they have never threatened an attack, however I don't trust the wasps as much. A friend of mine got stung by a black wasp for no reason -- there was no nest nearby that we are aware of and the wasp

    appeared out of nowhere then stung my friend. If you have a minute and would care to comment, could you tell me

    if the hornets will encourage more wasps to appear, and if the wasps are more aggressive? The wasps and hornets didn't interact with each other at all, as far as I could tell. Also, do hornets attack in groups? Ie: if someone is stung by a hornet, then are more hornets likely to follow? I would expect the answer is yes if you are near the nest, however I don't know if the victim is somewhere else. Also, if a single hornet were killed away from the nest, would other hornets sting the killer?

    Well, thanks very much for putting this information out on the web, and if you do respond then thanks in advance for taking the time to do so. Cheers!

    - John Frear   solitude@frear.com

 

  • Date: 2000-08-13/21:51
    Heather Wigton (gazer444@yahoo.com / no homepage ) wrote:

    Thank you! We have so many winged friends that I have not been able to identify, and this site has made that task not only easy, but done! Except for the nest that was actually in the door of our house, I have decided to leave all others that were found alone because of the new knowledge your site gave me. Thank you again for a wonderful site!

  •  

  • My husband and I want you to know how much we enjoyed your web site. We live in North Carolina (USA) out in the country. There are dozens of vespa crabro hornets that visit the lights in our windows at night and we didn't know anything about them. (They also come during the day.) Although the hornets had never bothered us I was always wary and a little scared of such a large animal. Now I respect them and I am fascinated by them and will protect them. Thank you so much for the information and the beautiful photos.

    Sincerely,

    Zika & Fred Wolfe, North Carolina, USA zika@ncol.net 

 

  • Hi Dieter,

    Many thanks for your E-mail. This is the first E-mail I've had from Germany. Although we have had the Internet (at work) for some time now, I've not had much opportunity to look at it properly/'surf', so this is all a bit new to me. I'm certainly enjoying myself though. Thanks for telling me about your web site - I really like it. The wasp and hornet photographs are great! You are obviously dedicated to these creatures. As I said on Hornetboy's forum, we called a pest control man come out to treat the nest. For two days afterwards, we saw no wasps either inside or outside of the house. Then, gradually, we began to see one or two a day, much to my horror! On Tuesday of this week we found eight in the same upstairs room (where they kept coming into before); yesterday we killed over thirty.

    It seems that they have travelled along the pipe cavity - where the nest was constructed - across the width of the house and they are coming up through the floor boards. We bought some spray yesterday (the pest man said he could not treat anything inside the house because the stuff that is used is toxic) and we sprayed the floor like mad, for much of the evening!

    I only hope that when we get home from work later today, that they won't be any more.

    Anyway Dieter, keep up the good work with your site. I shall certainly visit it again (as well as Hornetboy's) and should I have any more horror stories, I'll definitely let you know!!

    By the way, your English is excellent. I wish that I could speak Deutche as well as you speak English. I did one year's German at school, then I decided it was too difficult! I wish now that I had persevered. The English are not dedicated to learning languages and you put us to shame!

    Well done.

    Kind regards

    Linda lin.lymer@bt.com 

 

  • Hello from Salt Lake City, Utah, USA!
    We live in an area near the mountains, called Holladay. We are quite used to yellowjackets sharing our hummingbird feeders each summer. This week, for the first time, we found what we believed to be a brown hornet at the feeders. These hornets appeared to be much more aggressive than the yellowjackets. The new brown/black hornets chased three species of hummingbird and the yellowjackets away from the feeders. A search of the internet led us to your site and a positive identification of this species as the baldfaced hornet. A visitor to our shop (The Wild Bird Center) reported seeing these hornets for the first time in her yard some 20 miles west of here. She was surprised at the aggressive nature of this species as she was approached and stung without provocation. Since this species is new to us, we appreciate the information at your web site.
    Thank you,
    Sheri Hogle mailto:shogle@vii.com

 

  • i have been seeing large "wasps" around for a while & could not identify them, in fact i was ready to destroy the nest if/when i found it.  i cound not find any way of identifying them & was convinced that hornets did not have the classic wasp-waist.  having found your web-site i am able to leave the nest safe in my roof as i have identified them as hornets which are a protected species here. once again thank you.
    mailto:nedludd@supanet.com
     

 

  • Janice Kern (janice_mikes@yahoo.com / no homepage) wrote:

    I am very grateful for your web site. I was sure I had some strange new mutant bee in my yard, as I have owned my house for 9 years and have never seen these fierce looking hornets before.

    I have fruit trees and the bald faced hornet seems to prefer pears to yellow or red apples. Also I have 2 dogs in my yard that do not seem to be bothered by sharing the shade under the fruit trees with these beautiful black and white creatures. They have never been stung by any of the bees and wasps they share their space with.

    I have not seen a nest yet but am looking forward to discovering where it is. When I do, I will leave it alone now that I have seen your very informative web-site.

    I also enjoyed the pictures! Thank you for putting my mind at ease.

 

  • Dear Kosmeier and Schmidt,
    Hello. My name is Andre Wehrle. I am a 14-year old from Stoughton, Wisconsin. I have been fascinated by social wasps for years, and enjoy observing them. I came across your Hornets- Gentle Giants web site from a search engine link. I strongly agree that hornets and other stinging insects are much maligned and misunderstood by many people. All too often the mere presence of a yellowjacket or wasp around the outdoor garbage cans send my schoolmates into a panic. Your web site gives exellent imformation about hornets and I love the pictures of their nests. I have observed numerous social wasp nests at close range, and been stung only once, and that when I practically stuck my nose into a yellowjacket nest. I collect wasp nests and have lots of mud dauber and paper wasp nests. I also have two baldfaced hornet nests. I have never seen a European hornet. I don't think we have them here in Wisconsin. I just want to say I support your work in helping to preserve these fascinating insects.

    Regards

    My email adress is mailto:we3he@aol.com

 

  • Very nice web site. Informative, the photo's were very helpful in identifying the critters living inbeteen the walls of my home. Believe me in the states we have no shortage of hornets. Yet my research has pointed to the best approach is to let them complete their life cycle and then for me to plug up their access hole.
    Tim Moeller tjm@tjmsoftwaresolutions.com 

 

  • Date: 2000-09-03 05:24:05
    Janice Kern (janice_mikes@yahoo.com / no homepage) wrote:

    I am very grateful for your web site. I was sure I had some strange new mutant bee in my yard, as I have owned my house for 9 years and have never seen these fierce looking hornets before.

    I have fruit trees and the bald faced hornet seems to prefer pears to yellow or red apples. Also I have 2 dogs in my yard that do not seem to be bothered by sharing the shade under the fruit trees with these beautiful black and white creatures. They have never been stung by any of the bees and wasps they share their space with.

    I have not seen a nest yet but am looking forward to discovering where it is. When I do, I will leave it alone now that I have seen your very informative web-site.

    I also enjoyed the pictures! Thank you for putting my mind at ease.

 

  • thank you so much for the information in your website on European hornets. I live in Massachusetts in the USA and I believe we have a nest of them in our yard. The hornets are about 1 1/2" long and black and yellow. The nest is beige and about 18" long and 6"wide. It was built in an unused bird house, but continues above and below the bird house. Our yard sits on 10 acres of woods. I was afraid of the insects because they are so large and loud. Also, we have found pieces of bee bodies all over our driveway in the past week. Thanks again. I was going to kill the nest, but not anymore.
    Karen wkflem@aol.com 

 

  • Thank you so very much for this site. I have been trying to identify the hornets, and with your pictures was finally able to do it. My husband always called them a news bee, and told me not to worry that they couldn't sting. Well thanks to your info I now know that much isn't true.
    They are always in a tree right out my front door. I am highly allergic to bee stings, so you can guess my concern. When I watch them It looks like they are eating the bark. Wasps also frequent this tree, I don't know what kind
    it is or you  could probably tell me why they like it. My neighbor said that they killed his birch tree from eating
    the bark off it. They do not bother you when you walk past, so I haven't bothered them.
    Now thanks to your site I will leave them alone,let them do what ever it is they need to,and respect their space as
    they have always done me! We also have two dogs that have to pass the tree to and from the yard,
    but they also have neither been bothered. I call it a tree, but it is more like a bush that has grown to tall.
    Again thank you for the info!!
    Molly Gunason
    Big Sandy, Tn irishmg@aeneas.net

 

  • Dear Dieter,

    Thank you for such an informative website. My husband discovered a very large nest in his workshop that is attached to our barn. We were both shocked and a little in fear of such a big nest. We will measure it after the winter sets in and the hornets have left. They don't appear to be bothering anything or seem very aggressive, as both my husband and I have been within a foot of the nest without knowing it. Although the presence of them flying around our heads should have been a good clue. Hopefully we will get some good pictures later in the season. Again, thank you and good luck for the protection of these insects.

    Sincerely,
    Sena Kelley
    Bagdad, Kentucky mailto:jumpfrog56@aol.com

 

  • Dieter,

    I have lived in close proximity of these beautiful animals for over 50 years. I've had nests right above and to the side of my front door and have had their nests in the shrubs that surround my house. That presents a problem in being stung every time I trim the shrubs or relocating the nest, first.

    I have had these incredibly fast animals pick flies right off my knee while fishing or lying in my back yard. It's fantastic to see them hunt. Now I find myself in the position of being asked to exterminate a nest that is high in my eaves "because these "bees" present a danger to the children". It's just that this nest is visible even though it is 30 meters farther away than the one in my shrubs. I feel like I need some backing against these ignorant city people. Why did they move tothe country? Agghh.

    Robert S. Davis, P.E. 52 Valley View Trail

    Sparta, NJ 07871

    Email: davisrs@engineer.com

 

  • Dieter,

    Thanks. Again, I love your site.

    I had no idea that Germany had a pervasive "If it flies, it dies!" mentality. That is a scary mentality that is starting to be seen over here as fewer and fewer people grow up in the country and observe the checks and balances of nature. It is also a mentality that the department of Entomology at Michigan State University (http://www.ent.msu.edu/dept/docs/ipm.html) is trying to turn around with their IPM program Integrated Pest Management. "IPM does not mean Include Pesticides Monthly; it means Include Pesticides, Maybe."
    Robert S. Davis, P.E.  52 Valley View Trail

    Sparta, NJ 07871  

    Email: davisrs@engineer.com

 

  • Hello,

    Great website! Although I have never seen a hornet in England (!), I used to spend a lot of time watching them in Israel when I was on a kibbutz. As your pages say, they are really docile around humans, although at first they used to scare us all senseless when they used to fly into the bar. When we realised that they were only interested in the chipboard walls for nest material we got quite used to them.

    I also found a "watering hole" where all day they would land to drink. As they were rather unbothered by me, I could get very close to them without any drama. Beautiful creatures. Keep up the good work.

    jon
    jongreen@essex.ac.uk 

 

  • thank you for publishing a wonderful web site. this site is full of very interesting photos, and information. i will gladly tell my friends about this site, and invite them to stop by and see the very interesting insects !!!

    thanks again,

    fjp---- buffalo,new york USA
    Frank Procyshyn procyshyn@webt.com

 

  • Date: 2000-11-05 21:03:20
    I think your site is great. I think it is wonderful that you want to protectet these fascinating insects and I was amazed by the high-quality photos of hornets and their nests. I live in Wisconsin where we don't have Vespa hornets but I like observing and collecting Polistes wasps, yellowjackets and bald-faced hornets.
    Andre R. Wehrle. we3he@aol.com

 


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