That Huge Wasp in Your Yard? It's Probably a European Hornet (And Here's Why You Shouldn't Panic) 

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Vespa Crabro is an amazing hornet, they are surprisingly gentle and shy. The bald faced hornet is another favorite of mine, they are a yellowjacket killer.

As usual, the media comes in to push hysteria and shock. I see these guys occasionally in my area and had a hunch that everyone saying they saw a "murder hornet" was just seeing a normal species of the region.

Excellent information. This video should be used in our primary schools to teach our young minds about the benefits of bees and the truth regarding hornets and wasps. Thank you so very much.

Beautiful shots of all the different bees, wasps, and hornets! Very interesting to just watch them so close and detailed. Thanks!

Also these videos have helped me get over my fear of many wasps. I’m not afraid of honey bees at all anymore!

Fred, I can't thank you enough for all of your time and efforts. Simply brilliant work Sir.

We have the hormets here in Holland. They are protected by law. (In Germany even more). I could touch them while flying, but I didn't dare take her by the thorax (yet) They are great.

Now you have the perfect bait for a yellow jacket trap.

We had some European Hornets in my attic (Maryland) and I was in awe of the sheer size of them. I was pleasantly surprised by how docile/non aggresive they seemed.

Have you ever tried to extend the life of the male bees? Nature's a bit cruel to starve these gentle guys off. I know that wasps and yellow jackets have male care takers, I lack the information as to what happens to them during fall. Amazing video and footage!

I hate wasps and hornets but this video, shows the beauty of them and is very informative too.

Great footage mate. Nice one.

Thanks, Fred for the pertinent info...pretty entertaining as well.

Here in france we have a big problem with the vespa velutina, These days my hives are under pressure ..the bees can't go outside and are seaged ...no pollen is coming in ...

Very educational thank you for sharing

Awesome photography!

How do you get those closups? May I ask what camera and lens you are using?

That was fascinating! Thanks

Yep I have them at my house in a lilac tree

European hornet is the most beautiful hornet. :)

We have the murder hornet here in British Columbia. I have yet to see one. Not really in a rush to either!

Fred, appreciate your video on this topic. However, this is how Vespa velutina invaded France in a matter of a couple of years. We tracked down the original queen in pottery exports in 2003 but by that time it was already too late. Government agencies failed to act fast when earlier specimen were find and now Velutina is here to stay. Do not be over confident on Mandarina few specimen. Shit can hit the fan way faster than government agents and observers can say. I really hope you guys won't be affected tho. This is a mess. Obviously not talking about Crabo that is endemic and part of the ecosystem and way more tame than Velutina that is nasty

Needs a picture/comparison to the Asian Giant Hornet. I'm a visual person.

I starting using syrup with essential oil/soy lecithin to spray down my hive recently instead of smoke. Thanks for the pointer. However, I noticed after 2nd round of treating with Mite Away Quick Strips that the spraying attracted wasps by the hundreds and honeybee robbers to that hive. As a result I had to put the entrance reducer onboard. (I went and got copper scrubbing pads per your earlier suggestion and will replace today). As a test I sprayed down the outer walls of the empty hive next to it. Wasps went there by the hundreds as well. Have you noticed it attracts robbers?

You say there are gentle giants, I beg to differ. I don’t bother their stupid asses and I’m sitting on the screened in porch where there may be a little cracks here in there but these suckers keep coming in and coming at me as I wanted him dead this is sickening , And did I forget to mention it’s at night and I really don’t have a lot of light on to attract them in, why do all bees and stuff to sleep at night except these stupid freaking things?

We have here a ground hornet bout 2 to 3 inches dark in color aggressive will come after u it's a different hornet will also dig in ur outside planters when disturbed they come out

Btw at every hornet video has your comment 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻✌🏻

FRED what are you doing? You dont need to put your life in danger by being next to these hornets bigger than a small dog that can kill you in one sting. WE NEED YOU TO SURVIVE. I am kidding obviously.

My husband did get stung

We don't have European Hornets on the west coast. At least not yet.

I'm still not a fan! And for some reason I have not seen any yellowjackets in my beeyard.

i dont apanic

European hornets are still invasive and are still an issue

Tbf the baldface hornet is a mix of a hornet and a yellowjacket

Beautiful videography (as ever), and extremely educational. Thank you for such a valuable resource to point people towards to prevent undue panic, use of poisons, and other unwise acts.

Many years ago when I was a kid I found an European Hornets nest. It was located in a neighbors yard in an old bird house that the bottom had fallen out of. It wasn't a large nest but it was interesting to watch. On yellow jackets... my hive is situated on the second floor deck of my garage/carriage house. When I observe it I always take a badminton racket with me. When new bees are taking first flights or tired foragers return if they miss the landing board and land on the deck (which is a flat roof) yellow jackets are on them in seconds. They will kill them and fly off with the "good bits" in a minute. I'm an Urban beekeeper and yellow jackets are at their worst now. Traps and the badminton racket don't really make a dent. But the racket does give me a little pleasure!

Most people have no clue what is what when it comes to bees, wasp and hornets. Shame too. But I don’t blame them, I blame our education system. They are all here for a reason. Learn before you just kill.

Thanks for making the video and clarifying the differences. We have the European Hornets here in Virginia, they come out mostly at night for some reason. They don't seem to bother the bees and will help clean the honey off the supers when I put them at the feeding station.

Thank you for this! My dad had one of the European Hornet on his porch many years ago. He thought it was hybrid between a wasp/ yellow jacket. He grew up in the hills of NC and never saw anything like it in his 92 yrs.

Fred, you have "out-Dunn" yourself! 😀 Pretty neat watching all three lined up like that. 👍

Mortified! How I felt when I witnessed a European Hornet take down a Yellow Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly that was nectaring on beautiful phlox right in front of me. The Hornet buzzed and rammed the Butterfly off the flower with such speed and force, the Butterfly was stunned and tumbled to the ground whereupon the hornet lands, chomps off the head of the butterfly and flies off with the rest. No wonder my butterfly numbers were down this year. Also, I have seen praying mantis, wasps and yellow jackets eat the eggs of butterflies. Thanks for informative and interesting content. (shakes fist) Fie the scourge! LOL

bees and hornets look so cool to me. The colors they have also are really nice.

Bald faced hornet, or white faced hornet we had a volleyball sized nest. They got me while I was trimming the bush they were in. I showed my wife your video you did a while back, because I was going to take care of it... with propane and my 100,000 btu flame thrower. $150 later the exterminator removed it. Good thing, they had reinforcements coming in from the neighbors yards around me. It was hot here in Buffalo this summer, so the Yellow jackets and bald faced hornets seemed to be everywhere. Thanks for the explanation, next time I hear a flying chainsaw I'll know it was just a European Hornet.

Ugh I hate all the wasps. Bunch of jerks. Forget about trying to sip a can of soda this time of year, they will swarm it. Or if you’re out somewhere at a park and walk past a trash can and they’re all over it, then you have perfume on and they come after you. I’ve never had a hornet harass me, fortunately I haven’t had a nest near enough my house to be an issue.

Mr. Dunn, this was undoubtedly one of the better videos I’ve seen on the subject!! Thank you for your fine camera work and voice-over narrative. The more I learn about these creatures, the more I know how to respond to them. I sincerely try to keep “killing” off my list. Certainly with honeybees, and hopefully with yellowjackets and hornets, too. Another of my favorite channels, Hornet King, has a re-homed European Hornet nest living in a box, mounted inside his shed. He’s also got several re-homed bald-faced hornet nests around his property. Like you, he works hard to educate his viewers, and I appreciate it!! All the best, my friend.

Here in Europe we find them incredibly gentle and peaceful, they are not even interested in people seriously.

13:53 Is Dolichovespula Not Dolo Kaspuna What's That

That shot you got of the European hornet, the bald-faced hornet and the yellow jacket at 13:48 was so, so cool

Thanks for the video Mr Dunn,,, Just watched A Video Differentiating these Two,,,On Brave Wilderness,,With Coyote Peterson,, Last night,,I think they also take Sap from some tree?,, Can't remember exactly which One..🇱🇨🖤👊🏿👍🏿

Hi Frederick. Great post. I saw the wasps feeding on another one of your posts. I am petrified of wasps but love to learn about them. Scary wasp post but good info. Do you know if there are giant Asian hornets in the U.K.? 👏👏👏😁👍

I've always liked that German website that talks about the European hornet, and my guess is you've seen it too. According to that site many beekeepers in Europe will actually encourage these gals to set up nests because they prey on wax moths. There's a section of that site which acknowledges that the Asian hornet, Vespa Velutina, is a much bigger threat to bees.

I'm very impressed with the latest information about these and what they do you are not like coyote Peterson or Jack world of wildlife who talks about respect the animal and kissing it or trying to get stung by the insects. You were more informative to show wasps and hornets drinking together without being stung or fighting one another. You show the right way to look at animals in the wild, most of these young people would likely walk into a nest and mess the nest and get stung numerous times before it too late. They are scouts watching the nest, young people find out the hard way in hospitals. 📺👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

Same problem here despite being in Europe, you know, the place the European Hornet comes from... anyone seens one "oh I saw an asian hornet, must kill everything..." We have an ivy bush, this time of year it's putting out huge nectar loads and *hums* with insect life, flies, bees, the lot. And (european) hornets hunting. Actually, they're *really* bad at it. The target fly just changes direction or ducks behind a leaf, the hornet crashes into the leaf, drops a foot or two before recovering, and starts over... I've watched for hours, rarely see a "catch". Most years a queen starts a nest in our porch. We just knock it down whilst it's only an inch or so across and she goes and starts again somewhere else.

Love your post man very informative I have 2 1/2 a res that has alot of places for Hornets and I see them all thanks for the info I have five big in ground yellow jackets nest I've been thinking about viding them as I dispatch them I'm in ohio and I was thinking about your new hive you built, i would really like to communicate with you for this will be 😅 my first attempt @ hieving 🤔🤔,, anyway love your content pls give more you teach me alot.😔

Very nice, my friend Fred. Always learn something from you. When my hives were being robbed after the tragic melt-out, many tarantula hawk wasps were there getting all they could as well. I was seeing five different species of hornets/wasps, but unfortunately, I was so devastated by the loss of my girls that I failed to document it. I find it interesting to think about God using hornets to fight for him in the Bible: And I will send s before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. Moreover the LORD thy God will send the among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed. And I sent the before you, which drave them out from before you, the two kings of the Amorites; not with thy sword, nor with thy bow. No human could have stood against that enemy!

Two Serious Inspiration to Create Those Motorcycles,,Vespa and Hornet,,😅😅🇱🇨👊🏿👍🏿🖤

About hornets and light: I have made the experience that they don`t care about light right up until some time in august. I remember having all windows wide open every night all summer with all lights on and no hornets. Until suddenly one evening in august the whole room was filled with hornets, no exaggeration. The hornets must have been there before and didn`t care about light. But suddenly in august they care. something changes and I don`t know what. In that particular case we had a hornet nest behind wooden roof structure, nice and dry as they like it, 60cm above our windows. We did not know until they suddenly filled the whole room being attracted to light, that`s when we went searching for their nest. By august the nest has been there for a while without bothering us, without us noticing at all. Obviously we kept the windows closed after that experience and they bump themselves at the windows in huge numbers. (And by august it is only weeks before frost takes them anyway, and they are protected by las, so we kept them there and let them finish their year. But in winter we went and closed the gap they probably used to enter and all good, no more hornets the years after) I have tried to research this before. I find the mentioning that they are attracted to light. I did not find mentining about the timing thereof and why suddenly. I would like to know what changes for them that they don`t care about light until suddenly they all do and all at the same time. I have speculated that maybe in august their numbers of individuals is so huge that it is then they start to fly at night. Maybe they do not before, I don`t know. Or maybe foraging patterns change, I don`t know. I did find forum posts where people asked the internet about this phenomena because they were scared, it is very scary to have hornets bumping at your closed windows and hovering outside of them. And it is scary to find so many of them in one lightfilled room all of a sudden. All forum posts or questions asked that I came across were from the month of august throught the years. I did search in 3 european languages. I have experienced it myself 2 times in different houses both in Germany.

every year we have European hornets in the garden. By knowing each other and leaving them alone (we even give them water and sugar in front of the nest), they are very friendly. However, if you come across their nest in the woods for example, beware, they can be very dangerous when defending it. Another advantage is that we don't have any wasps or mosquitoes and other similar insects in the garden.

Bald faced hornets are the worst of the worst. They really earn the name "a-holes with wings."

Just suck it up!!!! Lol! I’m gonna stand way over here! Y’all have fun 😅

I will gladly take Euro Hornets over Bald Faced hornets any day!

We got Vespa Crabro (Geithams) here in Norway, scary yes. But much calmer.

Thank you again for yet another beautifully shot macro video.

That is some dark syrup 😁 reminds me of the Mummy when that Yellowjacket is helicoptering on it

I have these in my backyard and thought they couldn't be the giant Asian hornets yet I couldn't find any similar til now so up to now I believed this was the giant asian hornets and usually have to end up killing some of them -ZACH

You're very well informed. Have you studied entomology?

Yellow jackets and stink bugs can both go! This time of year is terrible for those two. Also we destroyed two smaller bald faced hornet nests on our garage while they were small. Those are bad and they will swarm you at night too.

7:48 *Fredrick starts talking about their legs and then as if right on Q the bee lifts its leg up and shows it to the camera*

I laughed when u said you sipped up a yellow jacket that shows you those guys are just different assholes man 😂 great vid!

Murder hornets are fake news! xD

I had one of those hornets fly into my apartment. Give you a heart attack. Living close to the desert I would get Vinagaroons. Those guys are out of a Ridley Scott movie.

I bet some people may also be finding an Eastern Cicada Killer and confusing it with a Japanese hornet.

13:57 that is a pretty cool shot. nicely done.

Amazing footage hope this helps people to identify the right thing.

Vespa mandarina doesn't exist in europe though, right? Only vespa velutina, the lesser known asian hornet

Killing those hornets here in Germany really can get you in trouble. They are under protection.

First Asian giant hornet nest found in Washington q13fox.com/news/first-asian-giant-hornet-nest-found-in-whatcom-county

Hi Fred, great content as always. Hope you're keeping well

I find these wasp tutorials really interesting. Thank you for sharing 🤗

Good information on this video. Wanted to get your thoughts on a topic I've asked on other channels. If the Asian Hornets were to encounter the European type---which of the two would wipe the other out? I've been told that mandarinas would prevail but is that possible since crabro has been here much longer, has adapted to this ecosystem and has more colonies?

What about cicada killer wasps? Could you do a video on those? (my family calls them bell hornets) I swear those guys really are the size of a finger: (not that I've seen them very well -- too busy being terrified and legally blind. :( )

I have had both of the hornets the white face one and the yellow face and the yellow jackets the hornets was worse

Beautiful close up video! And not just fear Fred, but ignorance is the cause of death by mistaken identity. Question if I may. Since you appear to be a rather educated man. How does one make the distinction between a wasp & a hornet... What IS the distinction between a wasp & a hornet? And Please don't tell me their size.

Got stung just below my kneecap a week ago by a European hornet. I cursed a lot, but we kind of ran into each other. We have had a lot more than in previous years. There was one on my hummingbird feeder this AM.

This Video was Sooooo Awesome! Love the part when the 3 lined up together. The closeups are Absolutely Amazing and the Spirulina being loved by these wasps and hornets are like whoa! This revalation along with the light you mentioned placed at least 75 feet away from your Apiary could really help out our bees 🐝. What would be the solution for the "meat" requirement of the wasps & hornets brood? The light would help attract some, but what else could we do to keep the girls off the menu?

A while ago I get sting from a wasp will am working on my bees .🙄

We had one Asian hornet last year. My wife who grew up in Europe agreed that it was not a European hornet. Unfortunately I did not get a picture of it, fortunately I have not seen one this year. I'm still looking for a good way to get rid of the bald face hornets that are attacking my honey bees.

Without these gals, we would have a huge bug problem.

Frederick Dunn VERY VERY NICE

People are so dumb. Media says something and everyone's panicking.

I don't think I've ever seen any European hornets in my area of NY. We have lots of cicada killers and some yellow jackets. Bumblebees, cute and furry, are very common here as well. Asian giant hornets all seem to have a bright orange face, which is a distinguishing feature.

Great footage Fred! What makes a hornet a hornet and a wasp a wasp? They all seem to basically bee the same...

Hello, Frederick. I'm writting from Northern Spain, where we have a lot of Vespa crabro. I like them, because they are beautiful. But in the last two years the have become very widespread around my home and this spring they are visiting my balcony a lot of times in the daytime. I thought it can be the colours of the balcony, as I have known that they like (as other insects) yellow and white colours. But I can't paint again the walls of another colour. Do you know some natural or artificial deterrent to European hornets? Because I have an old person living with me and I would like to get into the balcony with some security. Notice that I know that they are quiet gentle and pacific, but for some people the are quiet scary. Thank you and have a nice weekend, your channel is very interesting.

We found them inside our lilac bush inside under bark

How can you tell the difference between killer bees and their queens verses the regular bees?

Dolichovespula maculata is actually in the yellowjacket family. Learned that from Hornet King

i likd honey bees not big jerks

Thank you for sharing, beautiful video!

I have caught 3 of these today in NJ