Animal field guide
European hornet
Vespa crabro
European Hornet teaches Night Reach. It is the only large social wasp in its range that keeps hunting after dark, taking a shift no other hornet works.
AnimalDex card
Unlock this animal card
Scan or capture this animal with AnimalDex to reveal its collectible card and add it to your wildlife collection.
Get AnimalDexEuropean hornet at a glance
Animal · Native range keys: europe · The largest social wasp in Europe · Relatively common
Known for: The largest social wasp in Europe, Brown and yellow rather than the black and yellow, Flies and hunts after dark, Papery nests built in hollow trees
Understand the animal
Understand the European hornet
Factual biology first: what this animal is like, where it lives, how it survives, and why those traits exist.
Introduction to European hornet
Why?European Hornet teaches Night Reach. It is the only large social wasp in its range that keeps hunting after dark, taking a shift no other hornet works.
How to identify a European hornet
- The largest social wasp in Europe, up to 35 mm
- Brown and yellow rather than the black and yellow of smaller wasps
- Flies and hunts after dark, often coming to lights
- Papery nests built in hollow trees, lofts and wall cavities
Why European hornet are interesting
- It is the only European hornet that regularly forages at night, which is why it turns up at lit windows.
- Despite its size it is markedly less aggressive than smaller wasps away from the nest.
- A colony lasts a single season; only new queens survive the winter.
- It is a major predator of other insects, taking large numbers of flies, wasps and beetles.
Adaptations and biological abilities
Why?- The largest social wasp in Europe, up to 35 mm
- Brown and yellow rather than the black and yellow of smaller wasps
- Flies and hunts after dark, often coming to lights
- Papery nests built in hollow trees, lofts and wall cavities
Why does European hornet behave this way?
Why?- The largest social wasp in Europe, up to 35 mm
- Brown and yellow rather than the black and yellow of smaller wasps
- Flies and hunts after dark, often coming to lights
- Papery nests built in hollow trees, lofts and wall cavities
European Hornets are active by day and unusually far into the night, which is what separates them. Their rhythm stretches the working day at both ends.
Why Native range keys: europe?
Why?Habitat: Native range keys: europe, central_asia, east_asia, north_america. Woodland, parkland and older buildings with cavities, because Night Reach needs both a dark hunting shift and a dry hollow to nest in.
Native range: Native range keys: europe, central_asia, east_asia, north_america. Woodland, parkland and older buildings with cavities, because Night Reach needs both a dark hunting shift and a dry hollow to nest in.
Native range
Natural range, not this specific capture location.
Native range keys: europe, central_asia, east_asia, north_america. Woodland, parkland and older buildings with cavities, because Night Reach needs both a dark hunting shift and a dry hollow to nest in.
Why this diet?
Why?Large insects hunted on the wing, plus tree sap and fallen fruit for the adults' own sugar. This diet supports Night Reach because the prey it takes at night is competing with nobody.
Activity, rest, and lifespan
Why?European Hornets are active by day and unusually far into the night, which is what separates them. Their rhythm stretches the working day at both ends.
The colony lives one season and the queen a single year, so Night Reach is a principle executed at speed — one summer to build, hunt and produce next year's queens.
European hornet reproduction
Why?The queen founds the nest alone and raises the first workers herself before laying full time. Offspring fit the principle because the whole colony exists to produce the queens that will repeat it.
Queens are much larger than workers; males appear late in the season and do not sting. The difference structures the entire single-season cycle.
Predators, threats, and defense
Why?Birds, badgers taking nests, and human destruction of colonies. Nesting deep inside a cavity is the defence, leaving a single guarded entrance.
Conservation and rarity
Why?Rarity: Relatively common · 14/100. AnimalDex canonical rarity score: 14/100, maintained by the live indexed species profile.
- Observe from a respectful distance and avoid changing the animal's behavior.
- Do not block feeding, shelter, nesting, or travel routes.
- Use a live camera capture without handling or staging wildlife.
Ask AnimalDex
Ask AnimalDex about the European hornet
Ask about its biology, behavior, abilities, survival strategy, symbolism, or what its strategy can teach you. Answers stay grounded in this species page.
Anonymous: 3/day. Signed-in: 10/day. Pro: 30/day fair use.
Compare
Compare the European hornet
Where to find them
Where to find European hornet
To find European hornet in the wild, focus on the exact habitat patches that match its body design and daily behavior, not just the broad country where it exists. You usually do better by working one good piece of habitat inside native range keys: europe, central_asia, east_asia, north_america. Woodland, parkland and older buildings with cavities, because Night Reach needs both a dark hunting shift and a dry hollow to nest in. than by covering too much ground.
- Forest edge, canopy gaps, fruiting trees, or shaded trails where cover and food meet
- Protected habitat blocks within native range keys: europe, central_asia, east_asia, north_america. Woodland, parkland and older buildings with cavities, because Night Reach needs both a dark hunting shift and a dry hollow to nest in.
Animal field guide
European hornet
European Hornet teaches Night Reach. It is the only large social wasp in its range that keeps hunting after dark, taking a shift no other hornet works.
No captures yet
Native range
Natural range, not this capture location
Native range keys: europe, central_asia, east_asia, north_america. Woodland, parkland and older buildings with cavities, because Night Reach needs both a dark hunting shift and a dry hollow to nest in.
Search near meAnimalDex stats
Dominance
24
Speed
63
Size
6
Intelligence
18
Rarity
14%
Total
125
Size scale
Scientific name
Vespa crabro
Category
Animal
Habitat
Native range keys: europe, central_asia, east_asia, north_america. Woodland, parkland and older buildings with cavities, because Night Reach needs both a dark hunting shift and a dry hollow to nest in.
Rarity
Relatively common · 14/100
Native range
Native range keys: europe, central_asia, east_asia, north_america. Woodland, parkland and older buildings with cavities, because Night Reach needs both a dark hunting shift and a dry hollow to nest in.
Take the encyclopedia outside
AnimalDex helps you scan real animals, identify species, collect cards, and learn from nature wherever you are.