I saw today a post on a Facebook site where someone had encountered a "giant wasp" in their home and they squashed it. There were many replies stating it was an Asian Hornet and that anything like it should be killed. As usual there was no thought to correctly identifying if it was an Asian or European Hornet.
So in case you are unsure here is some information that should help you correctly identify hornets and hopefully mean the very docile and acceptable European Hornets are left alone.
Yes Hornets are large, around 30mm long! They look much like a wasp on steroids.
European Hornets have a black and yellow striped abdomen and the area where the wings are attached is more dark brown.
Asian Hornets have a mainly black abdomen with the 3rd section an orangey colour. The area where the wings are attached is much darker and almost black.
Here are a couple of images to help you identify them
European Hornet
Asian Hornet
Now you have seen the pictures maybe you will be able to identify which is which.
What do you do if you see a European Hornet? Nothing, just let it do its own thing.
But if you see an Asian Hornet you must report the sighting here:
There are other native wasps that look similar so here is a link to a document that should help in identification:
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