The European hornet

I found this dead European hornet about a week ago. It was lying on the front end loader of a John Deere tractor. I do not know how or why it died. Maybe our recent extensive wet weather played a part. Maybe a summer tanager caught and killed it. The summer tanager is a native songbird that eats bees.

The European hornet was brought to America in the 1800s by European immigrants who wanted them near their gardens. European hornets live mainly by catching and eating insects such as flies and garden pests. Unfortunately they also eat bees, including the honey bee.

The European hornet is larger than the native American bald faced hornet (which is not really a hornet, but is a paper wasp).