Hornet Predation

by Andrew Toomey

We get regular visits to our garden from hornets. Fortunately we get a fair number of butterflies too.

When the hornets are hunting they always target a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly. I have seen them closely examine a small White, then leave it and move around the bush until a Tortoiseshell is spotted. Their examination of potential prey reminds me of a short sighted person reading a bus timetable! In every case I have observed the hornet removes the butterfly's wings as soon as it is captured. The one exception was when a hornet carried a struggling butterfly away from the flower where it was feeding. The hornet soon alighted on the bird table to remove the butterfly's wings before carrying the body away. •

Small Tortoiseshell • by Douglas Hammersley •

These persona/ observations of garden activities shed new fight onto insect behaviour. The editors hope that many more wi// be sent in.