Officially known as European Giant Hornets. Not to be confused with actual hornets, these "giants" are actually related to wasps and not hornets. They make their homes in hollow trees, wood posts, and the like. Several of the websites I have looked at have described this insect as normally docile and more passive than aggressive, unless they're defending their nest. Females can measure up to 35mm long and have a tendency to sound like helicopters when they are in flight.
Why an entry on the European Giant Hornet? One of my kids was stung by one during a free period. We usually spend our free periods on the playground where the kids can play several games of chicken and get some energy out. The playground is made out of wood, and it's hollow, which makes it the perfect place for nests.
I hadn't seen any hornets flying around before, but from what I've read, it seems as though they get more active as summer progresses, which explains it. I spoke with one of the camp admins at the end of the day about spray ing the playground so no one else would get stung. She said that they had spoken to maintenance about it but for some reason they hadn't gotten around to yet. I'm hoping the news that a kid got stung will get maintenance moving.
I felt so bad for the kid that got stung, he ran to the nurse's office and I had to run just to keep up with him. The nurse put some green stuff on the sting (the stinger had fallen out, probably on the run over, or he hadn't let the hornet stay on him long enough) that was suppose to help, put a band-aid on, and gave him a ziplock bag full of ice. It took a little while for him to stop crying, so one or two of the other kids, myself, and my other counselor, started telling bee sting stories, stories about getting stitches, and soon he was chiming in with more stories of his own. My other counselor even said that he can now have the award for most band-aids in our group and he liked that very much. He must have told that to his parents because the next day, he (the camper, not the counselor) told me that his mom got the award for most band-aids when she was in camp too. He's a tough little guy and got to pick what color popsicle he got later because he was so good about being stung.
For more information about the European Giant Hornet, visit these websites:
http://www.vespa-crabro.de/hornets.htm
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