6 OCTOBER 2025 - HORNET ENCOUNTER

I don’t often get the chance to see Hornets at close quarters, but on this occasion, I was closer than I’ve ever been before.

I was enjoying a banter with a friend of mine (Gary) over a cup of tea in the garden, when suddenly this huge ‘orange’ shape flew over the fence and straight into the greenhouse. I sort of suspected it was a hornet and immediately rushed indoors to get my camera. When I got back and entered the greenhouse, I saw that the hornet had been caught in a spider’s web, so even before I could do any photography, I needed to set about attempting to free the insect, which isn’t as easy as it might sound.

I used a small bamboo cane to prise the web away from its wings and limbs, with the hornet frantically doing the same thing, but as soon as I succeeded, the insect flew directly into another web, and then another, which covered the inside windows of the greenhouse. But this wasn’t a normal sized hornet, it was massive, with a length of at least 1.5 inches from the top of its head to the tip of its abdomen – by far the biggest hornet I’ve ever seen (maybe it was a Queen); and because of its size I needed to be extra cautious as a sting from this monster wouldn’t be at all trivial!

I eventually managed to coax the hornet onto the tip of my bamboo cane, as it tried to extricate it’s legs from the remains of web, and promptly handed it to Gary, so that I could take some pictures, though I could tell he wasn’t really happy with that idea, as I tried to assure him that the insect wouldn’t attempt to sting either of us (though, to be honest, I wasn’t at all convinced it wouldn’t). I got sufficient pictures, then took the bamboo cane back from Gary with a view to taking it out into the garden to allow the insect to fly off. But instead, the hornet dropped onto the patio, where it didn’t look comfortable - strange thing to say I admit, but I wasn’t going to leave it there as it probably wasn’t safe from predators……………………. whatever they might be; I hadn’t a clue.

So, I coaxed it back onto the cane and placed the insect on the leaves of an Acer bush that was growing in the garden, and from there after twenty minutes or so, the hornet eventually few away, with some of the web was still attached to one of its legs. But at least it was free, so I was relieved about that.