Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Hornet

HORNET, or Vespa Crabro, L. a well known insect, which is about one inch in length, and builds its nest in hollow trees.

Hornets are very voracious, devouring other insects, and even bees. Their sting is severe, and occasions a considerable tumor, accompanied with intense pain; for the mitigation of which, there is no better remedy than sweet-oil, or honey-water, immediately applied to the injured part.

Different methods have been suggested for exterminating these pernicious insects; the most simple of which appear to be the following: Towards the end of April, hornets are found on rotten planks, gates, and posts, in a torpid state: each of these insects contains the generation of a swarm; and as they may then be easily taken, the destruction of one, before they breed, is equal to the extirpation of numbers. After they are hatched, hornets chiefly infest melon-beds, where they occasion great injury to the fruit. In order to prevent these depredations, it has been recommended to procure slender rods of different lengths, and to rub the ends of them with bird-lime. By touching the insects with these rods, they may easily be taken; and, as the females only proceed in quest of food, by destroying these, the whole brood will consequently perish.