Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – In autumn, the nature conservation association Nabu repeatedly receives reports of hornet attacks on people. This happened recently at Bad Ditzenbach and at the end of August at the Urach Waterfall. On Sunday, at least 20 people were injured by stings in a hiking area in the Göppingen district, and a swarm of hornets stung at least ten hikers at the well-known waterfall in the Reutlingen district. “In September we hear similar incidents every year because the hornets are more sensitive at that time,” said Nabu hornet expert Melanie von Orlow.
This is because the hornets only have one job at the moment – namely to guard the young queens and males for the next year. “The smallest vibrations are enough and even the nicest hornet becomes uncomfortable. I always have such incidents in September,” explains von Orlow.
In the period between mid-August and mid-September, the hornet colony reaches its peak of development. It can then count 400 to 700 animals. The queen is able to specifically develop eggs from which only drones and the young queens hatch. Wasps and their nests are protected in Germany by the Federal Nature Conservation Act and may not be destroyed. Removal is only possible in justified emergencies. Hornets are even considered to be particularly protected.
A hornet sting does not pose any particular danger to healthy people. Hornet venom is no more toxic than bee or wasp venom. Nevertheless, the sting of a hornet is subjectively perceived as somewhat more painful than that of a bee or another wasp, explains the Nabu. “On the one hand, this is due to the longer and stronger sting of the hornet, and on the other hand to the venom component acetylcholine, which is missing in bee and wasp venom. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t matter which part of the body was stung.”
According to police, people should stay away from hornet nests and not touch or confine the insects. People who already know they are allergic should never be out without their emergency kit and seek medical attention immediately in the event of a sting, the police wrote after the incident in Bad Ditzenbach.
