Hornets are social insects that live in organized colonies. Their dietary habits vary significantly between life stages and seasons.
The Hornet Diet: What Adults Consume
Adult hornets primarily sustain themselves on sugary liquids, which provide the immediate energy needed for flight, foraging, and maintaining the colony. They frequently seek out sources such as flower nectar, the sweet sap oozing from trees, and honeydew, a sugary excretion from sap-feeding insects like aphids. These carbohydrate-rich foods fuel their active lifestyles. Adult hornets are also drawn to overripe or damaged fruits, which offer easily accessible sugars.
Beyond sugary substances, adult hornets are also skilled predators. They hunt a wide variety of other insects and arthropods, including flies, bees, caterpillars, grasshoppers, crickets, moths, and even other wasps. The protein from these catches is destined for the developing young within the nest. Hornets are opportunistic predators, adapting their hunting to what is available in their habitat.
Nourishing the Next Generation: Larval Diet
The dietary needs of hornet larvae are distinctly different from those of adult hornets. Larvae require a substantial amount of protein for their rapid growth and development. Adult worker hornets fulfill this need by hunting prey, which they then dismember and chew into a protein-rich pulp. This processed food is then fed directly to the hungry larvae within the nest cells.
A unique and symbiotic relationship exists between the adult hornets and their larvae, known as trophallaxis. After consuming the protein pulp, the larvae excrete a sugary liquid that contains sugars and amino acids. Adult hornets, unable to efficiently digest solid proteins themselves due to their narrow digestive tracts, consume this liquid. This larval secretion serves as a vital nutritional resource for the adult hornets, complementing the sugars they forage from external sources.
Seasonal Shifts and Foraging Behavior
Hornet foraging behavior and dietary focus undergo changes throughout the year, largely influenced by the colony’s developmental stage. In spring and early summer, when the colony is initiating and expanding, there is a high demand for protein. The queen, having emerged from winter dormancy, begins to establish the nest and lays the first eggs. Once the first generation of worker hornets emerges, their primary task involves foraging for protein to feed the growing number of larvae.
As the season progresses into late summer and fall, the colony’s needs shift. The emphasis transitions from protein acquisition for larval growth to a greater reliance on sugars. This change supports the energy requirements of the increasing adult population and the development of new queens and males, which need energy for mating flights and overwintering. During this period, hornets may become more noticeable around human activities, opportunistically feeding on fallen fruits or sugary waste as natural sources dwindle. Hornets are adaptable foragers, known to hunt both during the day and sometimes at night.