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Stingless male

Bill Oddie has found a hornet's nest in a hollow tree and has a hornet perched on his hand. Hornets are not worse than wasps - they are actually very placid creatures. Bill's one is a male, which he can tell from its antennae, and therefore doesn't have a sting. Hornets warn you if they are getting cross and bounce on you. If you don't get out of the way and they do sting, they do it as they fly past you. They are much bigger than wasps but the sting hurts about the same amount. At this time of year most of the hornets are dying off. The only ones that will survive the winter are the queens, who hibernate. Next May or June they'll emerge and start building new nests.

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