📸 PhotoPhoto: Accipiter (R. Altenkamp, Berlin) · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
European hornet
Vespa crabro (European hornet · モンスズメバチ)
Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 A worker at about 1 inch (2.54 cm) is almost equal to the diameter of a Korean 500-won coin (2.65 cm), and a 3.3 cm queen is about 1.25 coins long (Comparison).
- 💡 Because it is also active at night and gathers at lights, it can be encountered near outdoor lighting after dark (University of Georgia Extension).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The European hornet is a large hornet with black and yellow stripes on its abdomen that hunts insects such as flies and other wasps.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Workers are about 1 inch (25 mm) long with black and yellow stripes on the abdomen. Queens grow up to 1.3 inches (33 mm) and have yellow stripes on a reddish-brown ground.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It preys on insects such as flies and wasps and does not aggressively target honey bees. Choosing dark locations in hollow trees or on bark, it builds nests from fibers gathered from tree bark. It is usually not aggressive unless its nest is threatened, and is also active at night and attracted to lights.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List: not evaluated (NE) — cross-checked with the Wikidata conservation-status entry
- • catalogueoflife.org — 5B9T3
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000031625 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000031625
- • wikidata.org — Q30258
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Vespa crabro 80708.jpg
- • site.caes.uga.edu — entomologyresearch
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — author not recorded · CC0 1.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.