I have persuaded our neighbour that blasting it with his shotgun is not a good idea…
The weather is still nice and warm… and the insects are very active…so I suspect something will be officially done quite soon…we have a big funeral on Thursday and everyone gathers under the oak tree…to hug, kiss and chat…
Actually, although José reckons they are frelons… I am wondering if this might be the nest of something else… it looks so pretty… any ideas ???
It looks like hornets to me.
We found one in our oak tree that we weren’t aware that was even there until the leaves fell in autumn. They were clearly not very aggressive.
A small deputation knocked on my door and asked if I had binoculars, in order to check it out…as it is at the top the tree… .
I had never noticed it … and not been bothered (so far) by the insects…but the neighbours are rather anxious… so tomorrow may see some action.
Asian hornets. Standing by the oak tree won’t be a problem if it is in the branches. Standing directly underneath the nest you could be rained on by hornet excrement. Otherwise the risk is minimal (unless you annoy them).
Call a reliable pest controller. Www.pagesjaunes.fr “dératisation désinsectisation désinfection” treatment is not free. The owner of tbe tree (or landlord) foots the bill.
Bonne chance
Rob
Thanks to everyone for their comments and messages… the Mairie (who actually own the tree) will be deciding what to do…or not… as the case may be. 
Leave. It alone . . .
Unfortunately leaving it alone isn’t a clever option either. Whereas with bees, wasps and European (common) hornet there is one queen laying, Asian hornets have many queens, all laying eggs. When the nest becomes over populated, then the queens disperse and form new colonies. 1 nest can become 20 nests very quickly.
The meteoric spread in France is due to its capability to form new colonies very quickly. It is also more hardy than the European hornet whose colonies will begin to die off when it gets cold, but Asian hornets can be active well into December.
R
Just FYI, about 1 month ago, we saw 4 Asian hornets (large, orange death mask, orange feet) feasting on a dead bird in our garden. We needed to cut the grass, so we caught them under a big glass jar and transferred them elsewhere. My OH decided to spray them with Ajax while still under the jar and within about 5 minutes, they were stone dead.
I have no idea why Ajax would be so effective on them (perhaps someone chemistry/biology-wise could enlighten me?), but it was certainly more effective than any spray or other substance that we had tried before. I’ll definitely be wearing gloves the next time I use Ajax, though…
What with the increase in hornets in our area generally (Haute-Garonne) and the very unpleasant hordes of mosquitos this summer, we haven’t actually spent much time on our terrace this year. Short of cutting down all the trees and hedges in our garden, I don’t really know what we should do.
I didn’t know about the differences in numbers of queen hornets between the European and Asian species - thank you to Robert for that nugget.
