What is the difference between a hornet and a wasp

Wasp and hornet lead a similar lifestyle, have external similarities. But unlike wasps, hornet - a less aggressive creature, staying away from a person if it flies into a house, tries in every possible way to get out through an open window, doors, cracks. The question of how the hornet differs from the wasp is not entirely correct, since both insects belong to the same "wasp" order. The hornet is the largest representative of the genus.

Features of insect life

A comparison of wasp and hornet is worth starting from an analysis of insect behavior. Wasps come in public and solitary.

In the first case, the head of the family is a prolific female - uterus. Having wintered in a secluded place, it forms a honeycomb, new nests, lays eggs. Of larvae are born workers who begin to build a nest. Over time, the population increases, there is a division into castes. Each group of insects fulfills its role - it protects the nest, is engaged in construction, searches for food, feeds larvae, etc. With the onset of cold weather, working individuals die, only the fertilized females remain wintering.

Single wasps too build nestsbut they are much smaller than those of public wasps. The nest serves as a refuge, protection from enemies, cold. There is no clear hierarchy in the family; each female can leave offspring. Some wasps lay larvae in the body of other insects. When the larva is born, it is immediately provided with food - eats away the insides of the victim.

Hornets are social wasps. A large family is led by the uterus. Within the family, responsibilities are clearly divided. Workers hornets looking for food build a nest, take care of the uterus, larva, protect the family from enemies.

Interesting!

Hornets are the main enemies of bees, because they love sweets, especially honey, pollen. With powerful jaws, the predator bites the bee's body in half, in a few minutes a swarm of hornets destroys a whole hive of honey bees.

Socket Features

How to distinguish a hornet’s nest from a wasp, there are several signs. Both insects build nests using a special secret. Chewed wood, sticky masses form a honeycomb. After a while, the mass hardens and becomes like paper.

Nests have the shape of an oval, pear, ball. Consist of many tiers. The larger the nest, the larger the family. Wasps and hornets build their dwelling in old hollows, bird nests, under the branches of trees, in outbuildings, under the roof, in the attic.

On a note!

You can distinguish a hornet’s nest from a hornet’s house by color. In wasps it is gray, in hornets it is brownish. For construction, the last insects use rotten wood, birch bark, so the color of the building material acquires a brown hue.

External differences

All representatives of wasps are distinguished by a thin waist, a long abdomen. However, the hornet is somewhat more voluminous, rounder than the wasp. It is worth paying attention to the color. Bright yellow stripes, alternating with black stripes, with a clear border - wasps. At the hornets, black stripes alternate with orange and the borders are blurry.

You can recognize an insect by its head. The hornets have a large one with a wide nape. The whiskers are somewhat twisted, the eyes are clearly visible.The body size of the working hornet is about 23 mm, the uterus reaches a size of 30 mm. Wasps are 5-10 mm smaller. The sting has a similar structure, but also differs in size. The hornets have a length of about 5 mm.

The wasp and hornet differences in appearance are insignificant, but if you look closely, you can determine who is who.

Wasp Appearance:

• The body size of a typical representative is from 1.5 cm, the uterus grows to 2.5 cm, the male is slightly larger than the working individual.
• The barrel-shaped abdomen, covered with hairs, has characteristic yellow-black stripes.
• Webbed wings, 2 pairs.
• There are two large, complex eyes on the head. The insect can see around itself 180 degrees. At the top of the head are 3 more simple peepholes.
• A long mustache performs the function of an antenna, helps insects navigate in space, find food, prey, and pick up signals from relatives.

Hornet Appearance:

• The size of the body of the uterus is from 25 mm to 35 mm, the working individuals are slightly smaller.
• The head is large with a wide nape, eyes in the shape of the letter "C", reddish-orange.
• Long curved mustache.
• The abdomen is oval in shape, wide with orange-black stripes with a fuzzy border.

Insects can also be distinguished by their behavior relative to humans. It is the ability to attack, attack that excites many people. Since each of these insects has a sting, it injects poison.

Human interaction

Wasps are extremely aggressive creatures that rush to attack at the first sign of danger to themselves. Complicating the situation is the fact that insects often fly to a person’s possessions. Ripe fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, sweets attract them. Adults feed on juices, cubs are fed protein foods. Wasps freely fly into the house through open windows, but only bite if they feel a danger to life.

The difference in the behavior of hornets is due to taste preferences. Hornets - sweet tooth. They are attracted by ripe fruits, berries, honey, sugar, nectar. They behave non-aggressively towards a person, but they are able to attack if they see a danger to themselves or their family. For larvae, other insects, caterpillars, and spiders are killed.

Hornets bite painfully, cause an allergic reaction. But bite less painful than a wasp. A red spot, swelling appears on the skin, pain, discomfort, fever at the site of the lesion are felt. Only in case of individual intolerance does a person develop a severe allergic reaction with nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, general weakness.

Important!

A swarm of insects on a person is especially dangerous. One individual can sting several times in a minute. The sting penetrates the skin of a person, insects inject poison. The more poison gets into the blood, the stronger the consequences.

Hornets play a very important role in pollination of plants, so their presence in gardens, gardens, flowerbeds is desirable. Wasps also participate in the process of pollination of plants, but not so intensively.