1/7/2024 0 Comments Do hornets hibernate![]() Worker hornets are about 25 mm in length, whilst queens may be up to 35 mm., so significantly bigger than wasps. The colour of hornets can vary and a number of r egional colour forms are known across Europe. Hairs are present on both thorax and abdomen but they are not ‘hairy’ like bumblebees. The head of the insect has dark, prominent eyes, its wings are a reddish-orange, whilst the abdomen is striped with yellow and brown. They are more likely to ‘scavenge’ food at the end of summer into autumn rather than hunt. In return for this material, the larvae willingly ‘exude’ for the adults a sugary liquid for them to feed on. Adults can also be found feeding on sugar-rich sources such as tree sap, nectar, and ripe fruit. Much of this prey is then chewed up to feed the growing larvae. In many ways, hornets are useful in that they predate on a number of garden and agricultural pests. They can hunt and capture a wide variety of invertebrate prey (beetles, wasps, moths, dragonflies, robber flies - they may even prey on honey bees). The food of a hornet is surprisingly varied. ![]() This was thought to be the case for European hornets but instead worker hornets enforce ‘sterility’ by physically destroying any worker-laid eggs or the workers laying them ! In other colonies of social insects, like honeybees, female workers don’t reproduce due to the pheromones that are released by the Queen. The ‘sterile workers’ and the male hornets die with the onset of winter. ![]() The fertilised queens hibernate over winter, emerging in spring to start a new nest. But in autumn, the males (drones) and the new queens leave the nest to mate. The males (drones) do not contribute to nest building, food foraging etc. Larvae that hatch in the summer are either fertile queens or males. This material is glued together by their saliva. Twigs, bark and other plant material is broken up, chewed and shaped to form the nest. The developing colony lives within the papery nest its a (a bit like papier mâché), adding to the structure as the colony grows. These are ‘ sterile’ female workers, who take over nest building and collecting food for the next set of developing larvae. An adult hornet worker then emerges from the pupa some two weeks later. The larvae are fed on protein-rich food ( chewed up insects) and then they pupate undergoing metamorphosis. Once a nest location has been secured, they lay eggs that hatch into larvae. They then seek a warm, dry place to start nest construction. Hornet queens are the sole survivors of an old colony after a UK winter and they emerge as the weather finally starts to warm in early spring. A colony is founded by a fertilised queen, who emerges from hibernation in spring. That is to say, hornets live in colonies, with some 200 / 400 individuals in each colony. The European hornet ( Vespa crabo) is an eusocial insect. ![]()
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