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Yes, hornets can and do fly in the rain with more ease than one would expect. The proportionality of their structure and speed & strength at which they flap their wings makes it possible for them to ignore the water drops even during heavy rain season. So you need to be careful whilst going near a hornet's nest even in the rain as not only will they fly but they are also likely to sting you and ruin your day. However, there are a few things that you can do to be save yourself from being stung by hornets Be careful about what you eat outdoors: Avoid drinking beer or other forms of alcohol near hornetsAvoid wearing brightly colored clothing, especially floral prints.Don't wear perfumes or colognes.Don't walk barefoot.Stay calm and still near hornets.Keep your car windows rolled up when near a hornets' nestDo not try to take down a hornet's nest if you are not experienced as it might end up becoming one of the most daring things you will ever do Hornet's Stings Hornet's stings are more dangerous then stings from other such insects. One of the reasons that makes a hornet's sting so bad is the size of the hornet. Hornets being stronger and bigger then a normal bee can not only impact a bigger area but they also go on to release way more venom then other bees. Moreover, unlike honey bees who lose their stinger after stinging once and die, hornets can keep on stinging how many times they like without being any harm being dealt to them. “Hornet stings, like bee stings, are painful and perhaps even more so compared to honeybees, simply because they are larger in size and so have a larger sized stinger,” Troyano says. After being stung by a hornet, the effected area soon starts becoming reddish, swells up and even starts itching. Some of the first thing that one should do after being stung by a hornet are as follows Start off by washing the affected area with soap and water. This would help remove some venom on the surfaceAfter cleaning the wound you can ice the effected area as this would help in reduceing the swelling of the area You can also damp a cotton ball with some amount of vinegar and gently place it on the affected area. This can very much help with the swelling and itchingCover with a bandage if desired. In case you start seeing some allergic reactions it is better to see a doctor as soon as possible as hornet's stings could be more dangerous for people with some certain kind of allergies Leaving The Area After being stung, one of the best things that you can do is to vacate the area as fast and calmly as possibly as you are susceptible to be stung again and again. “If you are stung, calmly but quickly walk away from the area. Troyano says.The best thing to do is to clear out of that area in general so that they don’t have any motives to sting you more,” he says. If a hornet happens to land on you, gently brush it off and walk away calmly. “Don’t panic,” says Judy Black, VP of Quality Assurance and Technical Services at Orkin. Hornets are most likely to sting when you are in close proximity to their nest. This is to just a defense mechanism and they will keep on attacking you unless you leave the proximity Fun Fact People in Japan eat fried as well as raw Hornets Can Hornets Sting More Than Once? Yes, Hornets can and will sting more then once if they are enticed to unlike honey bees. So one of the very first thing you can do after being stung once is to avoid getting stung again. And to do this you would need to calmly vacate the area wherever you get bit from Where Are Hornets More Likely To Sting? Near their nest, Hornets usually do not like any kind of people near their homes as they feel threatened, and stinging any animal or human that comes too near the proximity is just a defense mechanism to keep themselves safe from any kind of expected danger. Hornets are a social insect and protecting their nests/ home is instinctive to them like most other insects. Moreover, vibration anywhere near their nests can make hornets aggressive, and humans can cause these vibrations unintentionally by just walking near a hornet's nest. To elaborate when a human walks near a hornet's nest, the air around warps and molds and vibrations and ripples are created in the air. But these ofcourse are negligible to humans but not so in the case of a hornet Difference between Hornets And Wasps "Hornets are just a kind of wasp," says Jason Gibbs, assistant professor of entomology at the University of Manitoba in an email interview. "Wasp is a very broad term that covers many different species with different lifestyles." So simply put, Hornets are basically a type of wasp. They are a bit rounder and bigger than other conventional wasps but they are nonetheless one of over a 100,000 types of wasps that live on our globe Usually wasps and hornets are used interchangabley in the daily stream of things but technically speaking that is wrong, as we just discussed above https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDGJmzqvKTg A video elaborating on the difference between bees wasps and hornets Some Benefits Of Hornets The biggest two benefits of hornets that they give by their mere existence and their normal daily day functions are Hornets are quite good pollinatorsHelp control the overall population of pests like spiders, caterpillars, flies, crane flies, and beetles Hopefully, this article was helpful in answering a few of your Hornets' related questions. lastly if you want to through an article answering "What insects pollinate followers", we have a great article written on that too. So do give it a look if you are interested "What Insects Pollinate Flowers?"