A woman wearing a burqa begs on a street in Mazar-i-Sharif on December 22, 2021. (Photo by Mohd Rasfan/AFP Photo)

A woman plays on a swing on the beach in Santa Monica, Calif., Wednesday, June 22, 2022. (Photo by Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

The Sheep watch the sunset from the top of Cleeve Hill, Cheltenham, United Kingdom on June 22, 2020. (Photo by Jack Boskett/The Telegraph)

A devotee participates in Holi celebrations at the Nandagram temple, on March 22, 2013. (Photo by Manish Swarup/Associated Press)

A labourer carries a basket of bananas inside a wholesale fruit and vegetable market in Bengaluru, India, August 22, 2016. (Photo by Abhishek N. Chinnappa/Reuters)

A model presents a creation by Versace during the Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy on February 22, 2019. (Photo by Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters)

People walk near an artwork depicting Pope Francis, following the death of the pontiff, in Rome, Italy, on April 22, 2025. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

Hornets are insects that are the largest eusocial wasps. Some species can reach up to 5.5 cm (2.2 in) in length. The true hornets make up the genus Vespa and are distinguished from other vespines by the width of the vertex (part of the head behind the eyes), which is proportionally larger in Vespa and by the anteriorly rounded gasters (the section of the abdomen behind the wasp waist). The best known species is the European hornet (Vespa crabro), about 2–3.5 cm in length, widely distributed throughout Europe, Russia, North America and Northeast Asia.