Hornets - unexpected focus stacking opportunity

I just arrived from our family holidays in nearby riverside chalet. On the first day we noticed hornets are nesting just few meters from our outside porch. Due their night time activity it was impossible to stay outside by night and several times hornets entered indoor parts. As we had two small children along with us, I protected my children instead of hornets and during the week stay I killed three of them.

Well, sad end for hornets, but family first.

I found this situation as educational opportunity and promised my daughters I will photograph those killed hornets to show them their beauty (I really never kill any insects if I feel there is another way). Well after everybody went to bed I started my focus-stacking practice. Finally I did few portraits I would like to share with you.

First of all, I tried internal focus stacking (15 pictures) to make sure the steps are best for final results. After that I used necessary amount of pictures to keep all interesting parts in focus. I used on-camera flash Olympus FL 700 WR with diffuser and reflecting plate from bottom. I was not prepared to practice this kind of photography but must confirm I love it.

R.I.P. Hornets but still thank you for this opportunity.

Hornet portrait, Olympus E-M1 III, M.Zuiko 60mm/2.8, 63 pictures stacked via Helicon Focus, focus step 1 (first night)

Hornet portrait, Olympus E-M1 III, M.Zuiko 60mm/2.8, 86 pictures stacked via Helicon Focus, focus step 1 (second night)

Hornet's sting, Olympus E-M1 III, M.Zuiko 60mm/2.8, 101 pictures stacked via Helicon Focus, focus step 1

Really beautiful photos, gorgeous colours & depth. I would like to add though some hornets or at least the asian hornet can release a pheromone if under attack. For further reading :

https://jeb.biologists.org/content/220/4/645

Take care

Martin

Bernard de Clairvaux wrote:

1. martinhb wrote:

Really beautiful photos, gorgeous colours & depth. I would like to add though some hornets or at least the asian hornet can release a pheromone if under attack. For further reading :

https://jeb.biologists.org/content/220/4/645

Take care

Martin

Martin,

The interactive relationship between the Japanese bees and Asian hornets is fascinating.

"A single Japanese giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia japonica) can kill forty honeybees a minute. A small group of them can decimate an entire bee colony. ... While the honeybees can tolerate temperatures of 118 degrees Fahrenheit (47.8 ºC), Japanese giant hornets can only tolerate 115 degrees (46.1 ºC)"

If the one scouting hornet leaves a pheromone mark on the hive, the bees are all doomed. 200 hornets will come back and kill every bee, steel the large and honey, all in a couple of hours.

But if they know the hornet is there they can entice him inside, where 19p small Japanese bees engulf him in a buzzing, vibrating ball of bees. They raise the temperature around the hornet to 117 deg F and which they themselves can tolerate while the hornet dies with anything over 116 deg F.

The bees then discard the dead hornet and remove the pheromone marking.

They are safe, for now.

You can find you tube videos of the hornets killing everything and the hornet being roasted alive with thermal imaging. Fasinating

European Honey Bees have no such defense.

Best regards,

Bernard

Thank you that's most interesting & disturbing since many bee colonies are already dying out because of the use of insecticides.

I have now watched Japanese bees defence against hornets, most amazing.  A friend of mine who is an apiarist here in Germany sent me the following link :

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/asian-hornet-geneva/45940092

I think if a hornet nest is identified as being an asian hornet it is to be reported to the authorities since as you point out the European bee has no defence.

Martin

I've many photos of bees, they're so industrious & hard working.

Fantastic images. Shame the hornets had to die, we had some nesting in the garden shed for a couple of years. I found them a lot less of a pain than wasps, but understand your concern for your kids.

Petr Bambousek wrote:

As we had two small children along with us, I protected my children instead of hornets and during the week stay I killed three of them.

Great photos. I was wondering how you killed 3 if you only had 2? 

Bengeo wrote:

Petr Bambousek wrote:

As we had two small children along with us, I protected my children instead of hornets and during the week stay I killed three of them.

Great photos. I was wondering how you killed 3 if you only had 2?

Nice work Petr.

I’m not an exponent of focus stacking - never really tried it - but I do enjoy looking at results like these

When it comes to some insects and spiders in the home, safety often outweighs conservation.

Peter

Beautiful.  Great images.

Messier Object wrote:

I’m not an exponent of focus stacking - never really tried it - but I do enjoy looking at results like these

When it comes to some insects and spiders in the home, safety often outweighs conservation.

Peter

the European Hornet is a protected and endangered species, in Germany you can get a hefty fine for killing them, they aren't that particularly dangerous despite their looks

Wu Jiaqiu wrote:

Messier Object wrote:

I’m not an exponent of focus stacking - never really tried it - but I do enjoy looking at results like these

When it comes to some insects and spiders in the home, safety often outweighs conservation.

Peter

the European Hornet is a protected and endangered species, in Germany you can get a hefty fine for killing them, they aren't that particularly dangerous despite their looks

The Asian hornet however is a very nasty beast.

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the computer says no

Adrian Harris wrote:

Wu Jiaqiu wrote:

Messier Object wrote:

I’m not an exponent of focus stacking - never really tried it - but I do enjoy looking at results like these

When it comes to some insects and spiders in the home, safety often outweighs conservation.

Peter

the European Hornet is a protected and endangered species, in Germany you can get a hefty fine for killing them, they aren't that particularly dangerous despite their looks

The Asian hornet however is a very nasty beast.

yes they are but these are Vespa Crabro, the European Hornet

I Wu Jiaqiu wrote:

Messier Object wrote:

I’m not an exponent of focus stacking - never really tried it - but I do enjoy looking at results like these

When it comes to some insects and spiders in the home, safety often outweighs conservation.

Peter

the European Hornet is a protected and endangered species, in Germany you can get a hefty fine for killing them, they aren't that particularly dangerous despite their looks

I don’t think we have any protected insects in Australia, but for sure all of our reptiles, including the deadly species are protected by law (crocodile farming notwithstanding)

Dangerous is a relative term with regard to insect stings. While my reaction to wasp and ant stings is usually an audible expletive, my wife will urgently require medication to suppress her immune response. So wasp nests close to the house are ‘removed’

here in Sydney we have two spider species which I rate as dangerous

One is extremely common and likes to nest above ground in and around garden places where human interaction is very likely. In the past week I have twice come within cm of putting my hand on one after moving my boat which had been parked and covered for a few months. A good bite can result in extreme pain and possibly a hospital visit. Thankfully they are are quite passive and have small fangs and shallow venom delivery. I try to suppress their numbers around the garden after finding one had set up home in a kitchen cupboard

The other species is less common and nocturnal. They don’t like to be disturbed - dig one up in your garden and you are confronted with an aggressive little 8-legged neurotoxic terrier with huge fangs and a bite which will become a medical emergency within minutes. I’ve only found one of these at home, and no, I didn’t let him go on his way.

Other spiders and insects get a free passage to come and go in my garden, and I make an effort to repatriate any that enter our indoor spaces.

Peter

Messier Object wrote:

I Wu Jiaqiu wrote:

Messier Object wrote:

I’m not an exponent of focus stacking - never really tried it - but I do enjoy looking at results like these

When it comes to some insects and spiders in the home, safety often outweighs conservation.

Peter

the European Hornet is a protected and endangered species, in Germany you can get a hefty fine for killing them, they aren't that particularly dangerous despite their looks

I don’t think we have any protected insects in Australia, but for sure all of our reptiles, including the deadly species are protected by law (crocodile farming notwithstanding)

Dangerous is a relative term with regard to insect stings. While my reaction to wasp and ant stings is usually an audible expletive, my wife will urgently require medication to suppress her immune response. So wasp nests close to the house are ‘removed’

here in Sydney we have two spider species which I rate as dangerous

One is extremely common and likes to nest above ground in and around garden places where human interaction is very likely. In the past week I have twice come within cm of putting my hand on one after moving my boat which had been parked and covered for a few months. A good bite can result in extreme pain and possibly a hospital visit. Thankfully they are are quite passive and have small fangs and shallow venom delivery. I try to suppress their numbers around the garden after finding one had set up home in a kitchen cupboard

The other species is less common and nocturnal. They don’t like to be disturbed - dig one up in your garden and you are confronted with an aggressive little 8-legged neurotoxic terrier with huge fangs and a bite which will become a medical emergency within minutes. I’ve only found one of these at home, and no, I didn’t let him go on his way.

Other spiders and insects get a free passage to come and go in my garden, and I make an effort to repatriate any that enter our indoor spaces.

Peter

if you have an allergic reaction to a sting it can be fatal, we have these hornets a lot where i live they are fairly gentle things, they take a look then fly off or you simply capture them if they come in the house and let them go, their size is quite intimidating however, we had a wasp nest in the hedge where i live a few years back, i found out whilst cutting it and when i got stung 4 times, not fun so i just left them alone as they weren't a nuisance at all, it was gone the next year and the hedge got a grooming again