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Kansas City Pest Identification
Vespa crabroEuropean Hornet Identification
The only true hornet in North America, established across Missouri and into eastern Kansas. Very large, brown and yellow, and unusual in that it flies at night and bangs into lit windows.
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How to Identify It
Huge for a wasp — over an inch — with a reddish-brown head and thorax and a yellow-and-brown striped abdomen. Nests are built inside hollow trees, wall voids, barns, and attics, not out in the open, and the paper is brown and brittle.
Size: Workers 25 mm; queens to 35 mm
Commonly Confused With
Cicada killers (larger, black-and-yellow, solitary, ground nests) and bald-faced hornets (black and white). Any reports of "murder hornets" in Kansas City have been European hornets or cicada killers.
Why It Shows Up
Cavity nesters: hollow trees, wall voids behind siding, barn walls, attics, and hollow porch columns. Attracted to lights at night, which is how they end up on the window screen.
Where Homeowners Find It
Around outdoor lights after dark, a steady stream into a hole in a tree or the side of a building, stripping bark from lilac and birch, and inside attics of rural homes.
Seasonal Activity in KC
Colonies April through October; peak activity August–September.
Risk Level
The sting is painful but they are less aggressive than yellowjackets unless the nest is disturbed. Colonies in a wall void can number several hundred.
What You Can Do Yourself
- • Turn off unnecessary exterior lights or use yellow LEDs.
- • Do not seal a wall-void entrance while the colony is active.
What Professional Treatment Involves
Locating the void or tree cavity, treating through the entrance with dust, and sealing after the colony is dead. Wall-void nests may require removal of the nest material to prevent secondary pests.
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Common Questions
How do I tell a european hornet from something that looks similar?
Cicada killers (larger, black-and-yellow, solitary, ground nests) and bald-faced hornets (black and white). Any reports of "murder hornets" in Kansas City have been European hornets or cicada killers.
Do I need professional treatment for european hornet?
Locating the void or tree cavity, treating through the entrance with dust, and sealing after the colony is dead. Wall-void nests may require removal of the nest material to prevent secondary pests.