Hornet And Wasp Fight Over Sugary Fruit

Occurred on August 31, 2018 / Dohr, Germany

Info from Licensor: "Hornets and wasps, always lots of action at the feeding site

Last summer I also spent time observing, photographing and filming social wasps in my garden in Dohr (in the Eifel region) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. I spent hundreds of hours observing and arranging until the animals got used to me (and I got used to them) and then I managed to take some extraordinary pictures.

Honey bees, wasps, field wasps and hornets gather at a drinking trough filled with water or sugar water and enjoy drinking the energizing liquid. Especially in the fall, when the insect colonies are slowly approaching their annual end and the last workers have already hatched, various species gather here.
ropean hornets (Vespa crabro) and wasps such as the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) or the German wasp (Vespula germanica) can often be observed at feeding sites such as fruit trees or sugary foods. Hornets, which are larger and stronger, are usually more dominant and quickly gain access to the best feeding sites thanks to their imposing appearance. Wasps, on the other hand, are usually more numerous and rely on speed and flexibility to meet their food requirements.

The flight maneuvers of these insects are fascinatingly precise. Hornets approach with calmer, almost leisurely movements, while wasps appear more nervous and hectic. Both species can hover to inspect food sources or perform quick evasive maneuvers when threatened. Conflicts over food are common: hornets drive away smaller wasps with threatening gestures or body jostling, while wasps occasionally build up pressure through mass or group displays.
Peaceful coexistence can also be observed at generous food sources. Hornets often occupy central areas of a food source, such as the center of an apple, while wasps remain at the edge. Things get exciting when hornets use their position to hunt and prey on smaller wasps - a behavior that emphasizes their role as efficient predators. There are also occasional small conflicts within groups of wasps, in which they communicate by bumping their bodies or raising their front legs.
These scenes are particularly noticeable on late summer days, when colonies are in need of high-energy food to prepare for the approaching fall. They provide a great opportunity to study the complex behavior of these fascinating insects from a safe distance.

The largest and dominant species is the hornet. Like all social wasps, it feeds its larvae with animal protein, which it normally obtains by hunting other insects. Honey bees are easy and popular prey for hornets. They catch them at a feeding site or in flight. When hunting in flight, the hornets spread their legs to form a kind of catching basket and grab the bees with their strong, powerful mouthparts, the mandibles. They then often land with them on a thin branch and hang themselves there with one leg. They use their other legs to hold the prey in place and bite off the bee's head, then its wings and extremities. The abdomen is also bitten off and dropped. Only the middle body segment with the flight muscles is utilized. It is chewed into a food pulp. The hornet then flies to its nest and feeds the food mash to its larvae.

The whole process is part of the natural cycle. It does not normally harm the bee colonies, because in late summer their colonies have reached the highest number of individuals and many worker bees die around this time anyway.

Photographing and filming this hunt is anything but easy and requires a great deal of experience. Many nature lovers have observed this hunt before. But you just don't know beforehand when and where it will take place. The hunt itself only lasts a few seconds before the hornet flies off with its prey. In this very short time, the camera has to be positioned, the right parameters have to be set, the light and location have to be right and you have to react quickly enough. It took me many years and hundreds of hours of observation before I was able to film such scenes.
But in the meantime I have managed to capture many such shots, which can be seen on my YouTube channel. My shots are often bought up by film and TV productions, as only a few nature photographers specialize in this and many of my shots are unique."