hornets

 

One of Bretton’s iconic landmarks has become home to a colony of Europe’s largest wasp species. Hornets are on the increase in the north of England but this is the first time I have found a nest at the park although to be honest I’ve not spent a lot of time looking. This bunch are hard to miss though as they buzz around an old woodpecker hole just beneath the bronze man at popular Cascade Bridge.

Contrary to popular belief these insects are not the aggresive, out of control, sting anything that gets in their way villains people think and with only a few hundred colony members per nest are a lot less likely than the Common Wasp to be infesting beer gardens at this time of year. Having said that I took these pictures with a long lens from a respectful distance  – my love of this insect family isn’t quite on the Chris Packham scale!