European Hornet
Vespa crabro

The European hornet is the largest eusocial wasp native to Europe. It is also the only true hornet found in North America, having been introduced to the United States and Canada from Europe as early as 1840. Vespines, such as V. crabro, are known for making intricate paper-like nests out of surrounding plant materials and other fibers. Unlike most other vespines, reproductive suppression involves worker policing instead of queen pheromone control, as was previously thought. Source
Where it is now
In the last 8 weeks this insect was recorded 493 times across 16 areas (each area is a 5 degree square).
See the European Hornet on the live map
Arrival dates
The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.
| Region | First arrival | Last arrival | Typical peak | Areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | 18 May 2026 | 10 August 2026 | 7 September 2026 | 2 |
Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.