Hornets are a wasp genus called Vespa , native to Eurasia. They are large social insects, typically black or brown with yellow markings. Hornet colonies have a caste system: a queen who reproduces, infertile female workers, and male drones. Hornets create communal nests from a paper-like substance made of wood pulp and saliva, often in trees or buildings. They can sting repeatedly, and their venom, while not the most toxic, contains histamines that can trigger allergic reactions. The European hornet and the northern giant hornet are two species that have been introduced to North America. The northern giant hornet is the largest known wasp species. They hunt other insects and can pose a danger to people due to their size and potent sting.

How are hornets different from other wasps or bees?

Hornets, belonging to the genus Vespa , are a type of wasp distinguished by their size and social behavior. They live in colonies with a caste system, including a queen, female workers, and male drones, similar to ants and bees. Hornets build nests from a paper-like substance made of wood pulp and saliva, often in trees or structures. While not always more aggressive than other wasps, their size and ability to sting repeatedly can make them seem intimidating. The northern giant hornet ( V. mandarinia ), native to Asia, is the largest wasp species and poses a threat to honeybee populations.

Where do hornets typically live?

Hornets, from the genus Vespa , are large social insects, generally black or brown with yellow markings, found mostly in Eurasia. They build communal nests from a paper-like substance made of wood pulp and saliva. A queen hornet typically establishes a nest in spring, often in tree cavities or underground burrows, though they may also be constructed within the walls or ceilings of buildings. After the eggs hatch, the queen feeds the young until the colony has about 40 workers, at which point the workers take over hunting and foraging duties.

Hornets are predatory social wasps with a caste system consisting of a queen, sterile female workers, and male drones. Adult hornets feed on nectar , tree sap, honey, soft fruits, and mushrooms. The queen feeds tree resin, insects, and spiders to the young. Once the colony has about 40 workers, the workers forage for food. To feed the essential larvae, workers hunt beetles, other insects, and spiders. They are known to attack wasp and bee colonies, including honeybee hives, and take the high-protein larvae and pupae back to their nest.

How do hornets build their nests?

Hornet colonies, like those of other social wasps, create communal nests from a paper-like material. This substance is made from wood pulp mixed with saliva. Typically, a queen starts a new nest with a small brood comb consisting of only a few cells. This comb is expanded once workers have been produced. Hornet nests are often built inside trees or hanging from them, but they can also be found within the walls or ceilings of buildings.

What role do hornets play in the environment?

Hornets, as social wasps, have a caste system with a queen, infertile female workers, and male drones. They build communal nests from wood pulp and saliva, which they aggressively defend. Hornets play a significant role in their ecosystems. They are predators that hunt other insects, including honeybees, to feed their larvae. This predation can be a concern when hornets, like the northern giant hornet, are introduced to new environments, where they can harm already struggling honeybee populations, which are essential to agriculture. However, they can also help control populations of other insects and arthropods, preventing overpopulation and maintaining ecosystem balance.

hornet

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

European hornet (Vespa crabro) with yellow and brown body standing on a green leaf against a black background.

See a colony of hornets battle with a stag beetle for access to tree sap

Quick Facts

Related Topics:: northern giant hornet; What’s the difference between hornets and wasps?; social insect; Vespinae

See all related content

hornet

insect

Also known as: Vespa

Written by

Stephen Eldridge

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 9, 2026 •History

Top Questions

What is a hornet?
Hornets are a wasp genus called Vespa, native to Eurasia. They are large social insects, typically black or brown with yellow markings. Hornet colonies have a caste system: a queen who reproduces, infertile female workers, and male drones.

Hornets create communal nests from a paper-like substance made of wood pulp and saliva, often in trees or buildings. They can sting repeatedly, and their venom, while not the most toxic, contains histamines that can trigger allergic reactions.

The European hornet and the northern giant hornet are two species that have been introduced to North America. The northern giant hornet is the largest known wasp species. They hunt other insects and can pose a danger to people due to their size and potent sting.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How are hornets different from other wasps or bees?
Hornets, belonging to the genus Vespa, are a type of wasp distinguished by their size and social behavior. They live in colonies with a caste system, including a queen, female workers, and male drones, similar to ants and bees.

Hornets build nests from a paper-like substance made of wood pulp and saliva, often in trees or structures. While not always more aggressive than other wasps, their size and ability to sting repeatedly can make them seem intimidating. The northern giant hornet (V. mandarinia), native to Asia, is the largest wasp species and poses a threat to honeybee populations.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Where do hornets typically live?
Hornets, from the genus Vespa, are large social insects, generally black or brown with yellow markings, found mostly in Eurasia. They build communal nests from a paper-like substance made of wood pulp and saliva.

A queen hornet typically establishes a nest in spring, often in tree cavities or underground burrows, though they may also be constructed within the walls or ceilings of buildings. After the eggs hatch, the queen feeds the young until the colony has about 40 workers, at which point the workers take over hunting and foraging duties.
4 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What do hornets eat?
Hornets are predatory social wasps with a caste system consisting of a queen, sterile female workers, and male drones.

Adult hornets feed on nectar, tree sap, honey, soft fruits, and mushrooms. The queen feeds tree resin, insects, and spiders to the young. Once the colony has about 40 workers, the workers forage for food. To feed the essential larvae, workers hunt beetles, other insects, and spiders. They are known to attack wasp and bee colonies, including honeybee hives, and take the high-protein larvae and pupae back to their nest.
6 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How do hornets build their nests?
Hornet colonies, like those of other social wasps, create communal nests from a paper-like material. This substance is made from wood pulp mixed with saliva.

Typically, a queen starts a new nest with a small brood comb consisting of only a few cells. This comb is expanded once workers have been produced. Hornet nests are often built inside trees or hanging from them, but they can also be found within the walls or ceilings of buildings.
4 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What role do hornets play in the environment?
Hornets, as social wasps, have a caste system with a queen, infertile female workers, and male drones. They build communal nests from wood pulp and saliva, which they aggressively defend.

Hornets play a significant role in their ecosystems. They are predators that hunt other insects, including honeybees, to feed their larvae. This predation can be a concern when hornets, like the northern giant hornet, are introduced to new environments, where they can harm already struggling honeybee populations, which are essential to agriculture. However, they can also help control populations of other insects and arthropods, preventing overpopulation and maintaining ecosystem balance.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

hornet, (genus Vespa), genus of about 20 species of the wasps (order Hymenoptera), most of which are native to Eurasia. Hornets are large social insects that tend to be black or brown with yellow or yellowish markings. Due to their size, hornets have a reputation for being more dangerous than other wasp species, though they are not always more aggressive. One species, the northern giant hornet, or Asian giant hornet (V. mandarinia), which is native to Asia, is the largest known wasp species in the world. For a full description of wasps and their natural history, see wasp.

Taxonomy

Hornets are closely related to yellow jackets, and together these two groups constitute the subfamily Vespinae within the family Vespidae, which includes all the social wasps. True hornets belong to the genus Vespa, while yellow jackets belong to the genera Vespula and Dolichovespula. Distinguishing between hornets and yellow jackets can be confusing, and some yellow jacket species are referred to as hornets, such as the bald-faced hornet (D. maculata). The most common distinction is that, in general, hornets build nests aboveground, while yellow jackets tend to build nests underground. There is an expectation that yellow jackets have more yellow coloration in their patterning, while hornets have more black, but this is not always the case.

Eusociality

All true hornets are social wasps, and like other related social insects, such as ants and bees, hornets have a caste system that defines the roles within a colony. A hornet colony revolves around a queen—the only female in the colony that sexually reproduces. Infertile females in the colony are called workers, whereas males are called drones. Colonies are founded by a queen who lays both fertilized and unfertilized eggs. The queen’s fertilized eggs develop into workers who expand, protect, and feed the nest. In contrast, unfertilized eggs develop into drones, the males that mate with the queen. Workers and drones typically lead short lives of only a few weeks or months, and, in places where winters are cold, they do not survive it. Queens may live up to a year, hibernating through the winter as needed to establish a new colony in the spring. Worker wasps can sometimes develop into queens if a colony’s queen dies or if the queen fails to maintain her dominant position. (See also eusocial species.)

Britannica Quiz

Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz

Like other social wasps, hornets make communal nests out of a paperlike substance made from wood pulp and saliva. A queen will begin a new nest with a small brood comb consisting of just a few cells, which is expanded once workers have been produced. Often, hornets’ nests are made within a tree or hanging from it, though they may also be constructed within the walls or ceilings of buildings. These nests are often dangerous to human beings because hornet workers may defend them aggressively. Like other wasps, hornets can sting repeatedly, and their stings are painful and venomous, but the venom of most hornet species is no more dangerous than that of other wasps. However, the venom contains histamines that can trigger allergic reactions. One of the most severe of these is anaphylactic shock, which is sometimes fatal.

Northern giant hornet

True hornet species are not native to North America, but at least two species have been introduced. The best known is the European hornet (V. crabro), which was introduced during the 19th century and has become well established in the eastern part of the continent. The northern giant hornet (V. mandarinia) was first reported in western Canada in 2019. Like other wasps, it is a predator species that aggressively hunts other insects, in particular honeybees (Apis mellifera), heightening the concerns of wildlife officials that it might damage already-stressed honeybee populations. Due to its size, which ranges generally from about 3.8 to 5 cm (1.5 to 2 inches) long—with workers being considerably smaller than the queen—the species poses some danger to people. Though its venom is not the most toxic among wasps, the volume that it can inject is large enough that multiple stings delivered by a swarm could be deadly, even to victims who are not allergic to wasp stings. It also possesses an unusually long stinger that is capable of piercing thick clothing, including typical beekeeping gear. Together, these factors have caused some researchers and people in the media to refer to the hornet as the “murder hornet”; however, this nickname has been criticized as alarmist.

Stephen Eldridge

hornet

Taxonomy

Eusociality

Thank you for signing up!

Northern giant hornet