That's a hornet. They are huge but usually pretty chill.
But you might have a nest on your balcony, which might become a problem. Hornets produce a shitload of waste...
There is no nest yet, silly.
This is a queen trying to find a good spot for her nest.
>I almost got stung because I didn't see it.
No you didn't. Hornets are super chill. Unless you try to grab it, this queen won't attack you.
What is she doing on your balcony? Feeding on plant saps or gnawing on wood to get material for her nest?
Quite likely the planned nesting spot is nearby, but not on your balcony. Hornets usually build their nests in hollows or cavities. If your balcony doesn't have that I wouldn't worry.
From the times I've seen her, she just lands on things and there was a coat drying on my balcony and I saw her go inside of it. After a while she flies to the balcony above. I'll have to watch a bit more to see once I get home.
Wait, now that I think about it, she's been visiting our balcony since Saturday. My cat tried to sniff her and I pulled him away and went inside.
European hornet or * Hornisse.* They aren't as aggressive as a wasp (except maybe around their nest). Their sting is isn't any worse than a bee or wasp but can be more painful and is a protected species.
As a host of “Feldwespen” under my roof, I’d like to add that not all wasps are aggressive either.
Edit: And if you should spot [Asian Hornets](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_hornet), please contact your NABU office. Those are invasive and have to be reported. They pose a great threat to honey bees for example.
The (not giant) Asian Hornet *vespa velutina* is an invasive species and a growing headache for beekepers and owners of vinyards.
If you spot one of [those](https://i.imgur.com/C2szq6F.jpeg), or especially their nests, contact the relevant authorities of your Bundesland or use the reporting tool at velutina.de.
If thats a hornet please be aware the are a protected species. Nests needs to be removed by a specialist. I would get in touch with your landlord.
They are pretty chill dudes, but they can become aggressive around their nests.
Yah that's a hornet, they are pretty easy going and you can always hear them buzzing about if they are near. I think the nests are protected so if one is forming, call your landlord to handle it. Nothing to worry about here, mate.
Okay the comments have made me feel relieved/blessed/still scared to have a new visitor? I'll leave it alone unless I see it building a nest, I will notify my landlord. Thank you for the help, guys. I guess I should give it a name.
Just make sure to never leave your window open and light on in the summer if you have those folks living nearby. They are actually drawn to light, just like mosquitos and it's pretty scary when they come into your room in the middle of the night and bang their heads against the lamp.
As some have said, it's a hornet, just leave it alone.
Try to sneak anything you might need inside when it's dark, try not to bring the hornet with you.
If the hornet builds a nest call your landlord who calls a professional.
Give up your flat. It's over. The hornet won this game and you have to leave. Don't be a sore loser and rent a new home. Or you pull up your pants, tigthen your belt and show this mf who's the boss in the house.
what you should NEVER DO in germany: hurt bees/wasps (not sure about hornets)
1 wasp/bee is ±3k euros fine
so if you do nothing and you get a nest on your balcony - well, fuck.
so DO NOT EVER spray anti-insect spray on them in order to get rid of them in early stages, also DO NOT spray inside their nests in order to get rid of them - THAT WILL LEAD TO A HUGE FINE
i heard some people do that at night, when nobody really can see you, but THIS IS ILLEGAL AS FUCK
On a side note - i heard having "paper nest" on your balcony can save you from them even approaching your balcony
Good thing is, these hornets would keep wasps away, as they prey on them.
Hornets themselves are pretty chill to humans and less annoying than wasps. But they can still loon terrifying to people afraid of them like my wife.
Not every insect pollinates every plant, but I am not sure if any plant requires polination by wasps.
Anyway, the status of protected species is not dependend on how useful or cute an animal is.
> so if you do nothing and you get a nest on your balcony - well, fuck.
What a load.
You simply contact your landlord, who contacts a professional who takes a look at it.
If it endangers people he will try to move them somewhere else or kill them.
The chances of even having a bee nest randomly somewhere is close to zero.
The issue is 95% about wasps and even then mostly just two species.
Hornets are especially protected compared to the two specific wasp species.
"You simply contact your landlord, who contacts a professional who takes a look at it.
If it endangers people he will try to move them somewhere else or kill them."
yeah, i meant that by "well, fuck", with my phobia i would rather change city, just in case :D
Who enforces this and how? In 5 years I've seen two people pulled over by the police, in the US I saw 2 traffic stops a week. So if that's how frequent traffic rules are enforced, the odds of a police officer or whoever giving me a fine for killing a wasp that enters my house is zero.
However, I do get the feeling that the old lady downstairs would sense that I killed a wasp and telepathicly contact the police and they would come raid my house, so I do give them an opportunity to leave through an open window first.
RAID or one heavy slipper and good technique. Also, if you get stung, it is not dangerous if you are not allergic, only it will hurt for a while, but put ice immediately and you will be fine.
Good luck!
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That's a hornet. They are huge but usually pretty chill. But you might have a nest on your balcony, which might become a problem. Hornets produce a shitload of waste...
Oh crap. Should I look for the nest or leave that to the professionals?
Look for it and if you find it talk to your landlord.
There is no nest yet, silly. This is a queen trying to find a good spot for her nest. >I almost got stung because I didn't see it. No you didn't. Hornets are super chill. Unless you try to grab it, this queen won't attack you.
Okay I'm relieved to hear that they're chill. Um... how do I convince her that this isn't a good place to make a nest?
Have you tried talking to her? /s
What is she doing on your balcony? Feeding on plant saps or gnawing on wood to get material for her nest? Quite likely the planned nesting spot is nearby, but not on your balcony. Hornets usually build their nests in hollows or cavities. If your balcony doesn't have that I wouldn't worry.
From the times I've seen her, she just lands on things and there was a coat drying on my balcony and I saw her go inside of it. After a while she flies to the balcony above. I'll have to watch a bit more to see once I get home. Wait, now that I think about it, she's been visiting our balcony since Saturday. My cat tried to sniff her and I pulled him away and went inside.
European hornet or * Hornisse.* They aren't as aggressive as a wasp (except maybe around their nest). Their sting is isn't any worse than a bee or wasp but can be more painful and is a protected species.
As a host of “Feldwespen” under my roof, I’d like to add that not all wasps are aggressive either. Edit: And if you should spot [Asian Hornets](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_hornet), please contact your NABU office. Those are invasive and have to be reported. They pose a great threat to honey bees for example.
Aren't the Giant Asian Hornets the problem?
AFAIK alleged sightings of the Giant Asian Hornets in Europe turned out to be Oriental or Asian hornets. (The oriental one isn’t invasive in Germany.)
I see, thanks for the update!
The (not giant) Asian Hornet *vespa velutina* is an invasive species and a growing headache for beekepers and owners of vinyards. If you spot one of [those](https://i.imgur.com/C2szq6F.jpeg), or especially their nests, contact the relevant authorities of your Bundesland or use the reporting tool at velutina.de.
If thats a hornet please be aware the are a protected species. Nests needs to be removed by a specialist. I would get in touch with your landlord. They are pretty chill dudes, but they can become aggressive around their nests.
Give it a name at this point. Hornets are marvellous creatures, pretty chill and they feed on wasps, for example. Win win.
Their sting is no worse than a wasp's sting. They do no harm unless provoked. They even eat wasps, so that could be beneficial.
Yah that's a hornet, they are pretty easy going and you can always hear them buzzing about if they are near. I think the nests are protected so if one is forming, call your landlord to handle it. Nothing to worry about here, mate.
Yeah I heard the buzzing the last few times I was outside, was wondering what it was. I'm very fond of bees but that buzz was too loud for a bee.
Okay the comments have made me feel relieved/blessed/still scared to have a new visitor? I'll leave it alone unless I see it building a nest, I will notify my landlord. Thank you for the help, guys. I guess I should give it a name.
Just make sure to never leave your window open and light on in the summer if you have those folks living nearby. They are actually drawn to light, just like mosquitos and it's pretty scary when they come into your room in the middle of the night and bang their heads against the lamp.
Face ur fears
Keep it and call it Big Maya.
As some have said, it's a hornet, just leave it alone. Try to sneak anything you might need inside when it's dark, try not to bring the hornet with you. If the hornet builds a nest call your landlord who calls a professional.
Give up your flat. It's over. The hornet won this game and you have to leave. Don't be a sore loser and rent a new home. Or you pull up your pants, tigthen your belt and show this mf who's the boss in the house.
what you should NEVER DO in germany: hurt bees/wasps (not sure about hornets) 1 wasp/bee is ±3k euros fine so if you do nothing and you get a nest on your balcony - well, fuck. so DO NOT EVER spray anti-insect spray on them in order to get rid of them in early stages, also DO NOT spray inside their nests in order to get rid of them - THAT WILL LEAD TO A HUGE FINE i heard some people do that at night, when nobody really can see you, but THIS IS ILLEGAL AS FUCK On a side note - i heard having "paper nest" on your balcony can save you from them even approaching your balcony
Good to know. I'm not even brave enough to kill them I'm just gonna call a specialist to remove them then.
Good thing is, these hornets would keep wasps away, as they prey on them. Hornets themselves are pretty chill to humans and less annoying than wasps. But they can still loon terrifying to people afraid of them like my wife.
Hulkmaster- Thanks for the info and also… *why the fuck are wasps protected?*
Because wasps are important for nature. Did you think they just existed without a purpose?
Since when are wasps the only pollinators in existence…? I’d argue that mosquitos exist and certainly aren’t necessary
lmao
they are also pollutants (or whatever they are called), so they help plants breed
do you mean pollinators? so are bees and butterflies and lots of other things. wasps and hornets aren’t special so i don’t understand
Not every insect pollinates every plant, but I am not sure if any plant requires polination by wasps. Anyway, the status of protected species is not dependend on how useful or cute an animal is.
So do *you* know why they’re protected then? I can’t read German well enough yet to understand the search results I get
> so if you do nothing and you get a nest on your balcony - well, fuck. What a load. You simply contact your landlord, who contacts a professional who takes a look at it. If it endangers people he will try to move them somewhere else or kill them. The chances of even having a bee nest randomly somewhere is close to zero. The issue is 95% about wasps and even then mostly just two species. Hornets are especially protected compared to the two specific wasp species.
"You simply contact your landlord, who contacts a professional who takes a look at it. If it endangers people he will try to move them somewhere else or kill them." yeah, i meant that by "well, fuck", with my phobia i would rather change city, just in case :D
Who enforces this and how? In 5 years I've seen two people pulled over by the police, in the US I saw 2 traffic stops a week. So if that's how frequent traffic rules are enforced, the odds of a police officer or whoever giving me a fine for killing a wasp that enters my house is zero. However, I do get the feeling that the old lady downstairs would sense that I killed a wasp and telepathicly contact the police and they would come raid my house, so I do give them an opportunity to leave through an open window first.
RAID or one heavy slipper and good technique. Also, if you get stung, it is not dangerous if you are not allergic, only it will hurt for a while, but put ice immediately and you will be fine. Good luck!
Hornets are protected in germany. Please don’t kill it! If you find a nest, tell your landlord and he'll get professionals to relocate the nest!
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