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Hornet vs. Wasp

Hornet and Wasp both are the kind of bees that are often mixed as being quite similar regarding biting, stinging and other nature activities. Both Wasp and Hornet belongs to the same Vespidae family due to which many people mixed both of them and considered them as one. In real Wasp are the famous insects which belong to the Arthropoda phylum, whereas Hornet is considered as a sub kind of wasp that is larger in size of other kinds that are yellowjacket wasp etc. The major difference between a Hornet and a Wasp is of their physical appearance. Hornets are larger in size as compare to the common Wasps. They have large round abdomens as compare to common sort of wasps. Hornets are black and white most of the times whereas wasps have more of the bright colors in them including flashes of yellow etc. Other noticeable differences between Hornet and wasps are in their life cycles and habitat.

Key Differences

Hornets are of dull color contrasting black and white.
Hornet’s sting can be fatal to
Harlon Moss
Jun 05, 2017
Hornet lay their eggs in special nests.
Janet White
Jun 05, 2017
Wasp is a famous flying insect that is popular due to its aggressive nature and stinging ability.
Hornet is a kind of Wasp that is larger in size as compare to regular kind of wasps.
Wasps are of bright colors contrasting yellow with black and white.
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Wasps lay an egg inside the body of the other organisms.

Comparison Chart

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Hornet is an insect with aggressive nature and sting. It is kind of Wasp that is larger in size.
Wasp is a famous stinging insect that is often regarded as a bee. Wasp belongs to the Hymenoptera order.

Features

Hornets are larger in size as compare to wasps. They have large round heads and abdomens. They are usually of dark black and white colors.
Wasps are the insects with the sting that are aggressive in nature. They are smaller in size as compare to Hornets and are usually of bright yellow color with the contrast of black.

Nature

Hornets are quite social in nature. They are quite aggressive too.
Wasps can be social and solitary both depending on particular species.

Family

Vespidae
Vespidae
Harlon Moss
Jun 05, 2017

Eggs

Hornets lay their eggs in the special nest they built for laying eggs on high trees.
Wasps lay an egg in the body of other organisms as parasitic hosts.
Aimie Carlson
Jun 05, 2017
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Species

Japanese Hornet, Asian Giant Hornet, European Hornet, etc.
Yellowjackets, velvet ants, Spider wasp, digger wasp, etc.

Food

Larvae fed on fruit nectars whereas adults kill prey and eat small insects.
Most of the wasps live upon the nectars from sweet plants and fruits.
Harlon Moss
Jun 05, 2017

Hornet and Wasp Definitions

Hornet

Any of various large stinging wasps of the family Vespidae, chiefly of the genera Vespa and Vespula, that characteristically build large papery nests.

Wasp

A white person of Protestant English or other Northern European ancestry, especially one belonging to the American upper class.

Hornet

A large wasp, of the genus Vespa, having a brown-and-yellow-striped body and the ability to inflict a serious sting.

Wasp

A member of Women's Airforce Service Pilots, organized during World War II as part of the US Army Air Forces to ferry aircraft and to test new aircraft. The organization was disbanded in 1944.
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Hornet

A person who pesters with petty but ceaseless attacks.

Wasp

Any of numerous social or solitary hymenopterans of the suborder Apocrita, especially of the family Vespidae, that characteristically have a slender hairless body with a constricted abdomen, two pairs of membranous wings, a mouth adapted for biting or sucking, and in the females an ovipositor sometimes modified as a sting.

Hornet

A large, strong wasp. The European species (Vespa crabro) is of a dark brown and yellow color. It is very pugnacious, and its sting is very severe. Its nest is constructed of a paperlike material, and the layers of comb are hung together by columns. The American white-faced hornet (Vespa maculata) is larger and has similar habits.

Wasp

Any of many types of stinging flying insect resembling a hornet.

Hornet

Large stinging paper wasp

Wasp

(entomology) Any of the members of suborder Apocrita, excepting the ants (family Formicidae) and bees (clade Anthophila).

Wasp

Any of the members of the family Vespidae.

Wasp

A person who behaves in an angry or insolent way, hence waspish.

Wasp

Alternative case form of WASP

Wasp

To move like a wasp; to buzz

Wasp

Any one of numerous species of stinging hymenopterous insects, esp. any of the numerous species of the genus Vespa, which includes the true, or social, wasps, some of which are called yellow jackets.

Wasp

A white person of Anglo-Saxon ancestry who belongs to a Protestant denomination

Wasp

Social or solitary hymenopterans typically having a slender body with the abdomen attached by a narrow stalk and having a formidable sting

What is Hornet?

Hornet is an insect that is famous for stinging and its aggressive nature. Hornets due to their aggressive nature and stinging ability are often mixed up with common sort of wasps just grown large enough. In actual, as Hornet do belong to the same Vespidae family as wasps, we can classify a Hornet as a kind of wasp. Hornet is more aggressive and bossy, self-sufficient in nature as compared to wasps. They do not use the body of other organisms as hosts and does not act as parasites as common sort of wasps usually do such sort of activities while laying an egg. Hornet, unlike wasps, does not lay eggs inside the body of the hosts; they lay an egg in the nests which they specially developed for this particular purpose. Hornets make their nests in the tops of large trees. Unlike to Wasps Hornet is usually of dark and dull colors. The more often found color contrast in the Hornets is of black and white along with few bright colors which differ by species found in different geographical regions. Hornets are larger in size and shape as compare to common wasps. They can be easily identified by simply looking at both of them at the same time. Hornet possesses a large round shaped head as compared to the long tube-shaped head of wasps. Hornets also have large round abdomens that too are quite big in size as compared to the wasps. All the hornet species are social in nature, unlike wasps which more often are solitary. The sting of hornets can be fatal for humans in the worst cases and conditions.

What is Wasp?

Wasp is one of the most famous insects all around the world. It is often regarded or compared with the bee. It is more popular because of its aggressive nature and stinging ability. Wasps are so quick, responsive and aggressive in nature that they can sting multiple targets at the same time and can feel the threat at its initial stages. Unlike Hornets, their sting is not that much fatal for humans, but surely it can cause swear pain and swelling. Wasps are long and thing in shape. They are quite small in size as compare to the Hornets. Wasps do possess bright colors and are more often contrast with yellow, black and white. There are more than 10,000 different kinds of species of wasps that are found in every part of the world. Interesting fact about wasp is that they lay their eggs inside the body of other organisms. The young born wasp are the parasitic hosts that are dependent on the body of host for early nutrition.

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