A new giant and aggressive hornet discovered in Europe: danger, size, origin… what we know about this worrying insect

Ce nouveau frelon est différent de son homologue asiatique (photo) mais est tout aussi dangereux.

Une nouvelle espèce de frelons asiatiques a été découverte dans le nord de l’Espagne, explique un étude publiée il y a un mois. Voici ce qu’il faut savoir sur ce frelon géant.

Vespa soror. This is the name of this species of Asian hornets discovered on European soil.

Several weeks ago, entomologists from the University of Oviedo explained that they had accidentally captured new hornets with wasp traps in Asturias between 2022 and 2023.

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Concerns in the scientific community

This new hornet is different from its Asian counterpart but is just as dangerous. For scientists, it is a “worrying discovery”, especially since the insect, normally present on the Asian continent, was discovered in northern Spain.

“Our results raise concerns about the potential threat of this hornet to the dynamics of ecosystems”, specified the authors of the study published in Ecology and Evolution

These giant hornets from the south have been called by many media outlets “murder hornets” but this name is mainly reserved for Vespa mandarinia, the scientists emphasize. The Vespa soror is distinguished from its congeners by a black coloration on the thorax and at the back of the gastre.

What danger for humans ?

These insects, which measure between 26 and 39 mm and up to 46 mm for a queen, live in large, underground nests, sometimes up to 30 meters deep. These nests are also very difficult to destroy.

“The risk of attack on humans, when encountering a nest, should be between the European hornet and the Asian yellow-legged hornet, specifies the National Inventory of Natural Heritage.

When in a pack, this “aggressive predator” has an impact on beekeeping and the environment because it frequently attacks wasps and bees.

According to the authors of the study, “the arrival of this species is probably linked to clandestine transport from one of the countries where it originates” and its presence in northern Spain “could have a cumulative effect aggravating the damage”