It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a…European hornet?
If you’ve been around Ontario cottage country over the last couple of weeks, you may have noticed an alarming black-and-yellow insect buzzing around.
People across the province have taken to social media to share images of these hornets—which are about one to one-and-a-half inches long—sparking fears that the infamous ‘murder hornet’ (a.k.a. the Northern giant hornet) is finally making an appearance in Ontario.
But is it? It’s a resounding no, according to experts.
The Northern giant hornet, or Vespa mandarinia, has never been spotted in Ontario, according to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs.
In fact, the species have not been spotted anywhere in North America since 2021. “That little blip on the horizon is gone,” says Gard Otis, a professor in entomology at the University of Guelph.
Northern giant hornets first made North American headlines in 2019 after nests were spotted in B.C. and Washington. They owe their homicidal nickname to their tendency to kill honey bees.
If they’re not ‘murder hornets’, then what are they?
The thumb-sized hornets that cottagers have been noticing are likely European hornets, or Vespa crabro. While non-invasive, the species isn’t native to North America. It was accidentally introduced more than 160 years ago, and is common in many parts of Ontario.
Besides the fact that Northern giant hornets are about 30 per cent larger than European hornets, their colourings are relatively different. European hornets have a distinct red tinge to their thorax and behind their eyes.
Overall, cottagers have no reason to be concerned about these hornets. While European hornets tend to build nests in natural spaces such as hollow trees, they sometimes nest in porches, attics, and sheds. If they’re becoming particularly pesky or if there are concerns about anaphylactic reactions, you may want to consider removing the nest.
But unless you disturb a nest or try to grab a queen, Otis says that for the most part, European hornets mind their own business.
“I’ve personally never heard of anyone being stung by these guys,” he says.
Despite the attention they’ve garnered, Otis says that there isn’t evidence to suggest that European hornet populations in Ontario are going up. Rather, people have just been paying more attention to these buzzy creatures since ‘murder hornets’ popped up in the news.
The presence of European hornets is actually a good thing, according to Otis. European hornets are known to eat common garden pests such as crickets, grasshoppers, and caterpillars.
“At the end of the season, they may come to your picnic and try to eat your fruit salad,” says Otis. “But in the grand scheme of things, we should view them positively.”
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