Vespa crabro - portrait

The European hornet ''Vespa crabro'', commonly known simply as the "hornet", is the largest European eusocial wasp. The queen measures 25 to 50 mm long; males and workers are smaller. In males, as in most members of the Aculeata, the antennae have 13 segments, while in females there are only 12; also as in other aculeates, the male abdomen has seven visible segments, while the female has six; females possess an ovipositor modified into a sting which is not barbed. See wasp and bee characteristics.. more