Bee, wasp or hornet?
A cluster of thousands of insects hanging freely from a branch or wall is almost always a honey bee swarm. A grey or brown paper ball with an entrance hole is a wasp or hornet nest. Fat, furry individual insects at a hole in the ground or a bird box are usually bumblebees.
What can you see? Three questions
1. Is there a freely hanging cluster?
Honey bee swarm: keep your distance and contact someone.
2. Is it a paper nest with a hole?
Wasps or hornets: ask a specialist or nature conservation authority.
3. Do individual insects fly into a hole in the ground or bird box?
Bumblebees, wild bees or wasps are possible. Keep your distance and ask a specialist or nature conservation authority if unsure.
Five insects compared
Photos are not to scale and cannot guarantee identification.
Honey bee
Golden brown and lightly hairy. A swarm forms a dense cluster of thousands. Keep your distance and contact someone.
Photo: Richard Bartz, Munich aka Makro Freak, CC BY-SA 2.5, cropped Wasp
Yellow and black, smooth, with a narrow waist. Keep the entrance clear; ask specialists or the nature conservation authority.
Photo: Romzig, CC0, cropped European hornet
Much larger than a wasp, reddish brown and yellow. Stay calm; ask the nature conservation authority for advice.
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped Asian hornet
Almost black, with an orange band on the abdomen and yellow leg tips. Report with a photo to your regional reporting portal.
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped Bumblebee
Round, densely hairy, often black with yellow bands and a pale tip. Leave it alone.
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Asian hornet: figures with sources
- almost 3,300
- nests were reported by the public in Baden-Württemberg in 2025 (state environment ministry, 16 April 2026).
- one in four
- hornet reports to HLNUG did not concern an Asian hornet; reports without a photo are discarded (HLNUG, accessed 23 October 2026).
Sources
- Baden-Württemberg environment ministry, press release 23/2026, 16 April 2026.
- HLNUG: report a hornet; accessed 23 October 2026.
Canvas source status: 23 October 2026. Expert review: reviewer and review date still pending.