How Do Hornets Survive the Winter? A Full Analysis of Their Overwintering Habits

When winter comes, all kinds of animals and plants must find their own ways to get through the winter. Whether it is hibernation, sinking to the bottom of the water, or shedding leaves to reduce evaporation, all are good methods of overwintering. So how do hornets survive the winter? This animal basically disappears in winter, and then in the spring of the following year it starts buzzing again.

1. How Hornets Overwinter

Hornets, like honeybees, are social insects and are divided into three types: females, males and workers. The males are specifically responsible for mating with the females, the females are mainly responsible for laying eggs and reproduction, and the workers are mainly responsible for most of the work such as collecting food, feeding larvae and guarding the nest. During overwintering, it is mainly the females that overwinter in cold-protected places, while the males and workers all die, and in the following year the females produce many new hornets.

Generally, before winter arrives, the females mate with the males. After that, the females store the males' sperm in their spermathecae, and at the same time store a large amount of energy in their bodies in preparation for overwintering. When winter comes, the fertilized females leave the nest one after another and overwinter in groups in relatively warm, wind-sheltered places such as stone cavities, wall cracks and haystacks. The lower the outside temperature, the tighter the females cluster together; conversely, the cluster is relatively loose.

When the outside temperature rises above 7°C, the females begin to disperse from the cluster and each looks for a place to build a nest. After overwintering, the females not only have to lay eggs but also take on the work of building the nest, obtaining food and rearing larvae. After the first generation of hornets emerges, the females are dedicated to reproducing offspring, and a small number of individuals among the females that emerge in the second generation mate with males and lay eggs.

2. Basic Information About Hornets

The scientific name of the hornet is “wasp”. It has a large body and a long body length, but its venom is also potent. If you touch its nest in the wild, you may provoke an attack by hornets. Their toxin can cause allergic reactions and toxic reactions in people, and in severe cases can lead to death. There are many species of hornets, distributed quite widely across the landmasses of the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 15,000 species worldwide, with more than 5,000 known. Except for the polar regions, this type of wasp is basically distributed all over the world.

Although hornets are highly toxic, they also have quite high economic value. Among them, hornet pupae are an edible insect rich in high protein and low in fat, developed by feeding on royal jelly, honey and pollen, and are a premium natural food of extremely high value. In addition, the adult hornets, larvae and nests can be used in traditional Chinese medicine and can treat conditions such as poisonous insect bites and poisonous boils.

That is all for hornets. When you see a nest in the wild, never poke at it casually, to avoid being stung by the swarm.