
European Hornet drinking - closeup, Berghem, Netherlands
Found drinking in a very shallow pond. This is the largest wasp in Western Europe, at about 3cm. It looks very scary yet is never aggressive for as long as you stay away from their nest.
It's an apex insect hunter that will take on insects of any size, all to feed the larvae whilst the adult primarily likes sugary saps to support their high energy lifestyle.
Unique fact about this wasp is that unlike most wasps and bees, it always is in the mood for a hunt. Most wasps and bees don't like rain or wind, and stay in the nest. Not this wasp. In fact, it even hunts at night, targeting moths, which is very not wasp-like behavior.
Finally, it enjoys feeding upside down, just because it can:
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europese_hoornaar#/media/Bestand:Vespa_crabro_germana_with_prey_Richard_Bartz.jpg
One more, they have comma shaped eyes:

The European hornet is the largest eusocial wasp native to Europe. It is also the only true hornet 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.
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