European hornet: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the European hornet lives – recorded in 18 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Vespa crabro
Group	Bees, wasps & ants
Found in	18 countries
Continents	Europe, North America
Class	Insect
Order	Hymenoptera
Family	Vespidae

Where does the European hornet live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the European hornet in 18 countries and territories across Europe and North America.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the European hornet?

The European hornet (Vespa crabro) is an insect in the order Hymenoptera and the family Vespidae, genus Vespa. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the European hornet

The European hornet (Vespa crabro) is the largest eusocial wasp native to Europe. It is also the only true hornet (genus Vespa) 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.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article European hornet (revision 1380372449), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q30258 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).