Worcestershire Record No. 17 November 2004 p. 29

Harry Green

There are now country-wide reports of hornets arriving in places where they have never been seen before. They are on the move. This may relate to good over-winter survival of queens and global warming. We should very much like to receive as many records as possible at WBRC of hornet sightings and nests so we can track changes on Worcestershire. In the past they have been fairly scarce insects of west Worcestershire but in the last two years there have been records from sites throughout the county. Please send in your records. There have been reports of hornets using of nestboxes put up for birds and dormice. Inevitably these are too small to accommodate a full-sized nest, and how do the insects access a nest in two parts such as the one in John Tilt’s picture? To rear young the queen has to lay eggs, presumably in cells in both parts. One wonders if crowded unsatisfactory housing increases hornet stress levels! Perhaps we should be erecting extra-large nest boxes with small entrance holes (which exclude tits) especially for hornets!

We should like to receive hornet stories please!