Hornet Protector

"Skilled protector of Hallownest's ruins. Wields a needle and thread. I have seen this nimble little creature. I thought her prey and pounced at her, but with a flash she stabbed me with her flying stinger and darted away. Could she be... a Hunter?"

Hornet Protector is the first form of Hornet as a boss in Hollow Knight. She confronts the Knight in Greenpath to impede on their quest, but underestimates her opponent and does not deploy her full strength. Unlocking her journal entry requires defeating her both once in Protector and Sentinel forms or defeating her twice in Godhome.

Behaviour and Tactics
Hornet has 4 base attacks:
 * Lunge: Hornet lunges forward with her needle in front of her.
 * Aerial Lunge: Hornet jumps in the air before aiming at the Knight and rushing downwards.
 * Gossamer Storm: Hornet unleashes an area-of-effect attack centred on herself, using her thread to slice into anything around her. This attack can be done in the air.
 * Throw: Hornet throws her needle forward, then pulls it back. The range of this attack is slightly smaller than the width of the battlefield. The needle can damage the Knight on the way back.
 * Leap: Hornet jumps to move within the arena.
 * Run: Hornet runs to move within the arena.

Wait until she moves in with a Lunge attack and get a few hits in to charge SOUL. Then, when she moves out of range, hit her with Vengeful Spirit. At this point in the game, Vengeful Spirit deals 3 times as much damage as the Nail.

After taking about a fifth of her health, she staggers and kneels on the ground to recover. This occurs four times throughout the fight. Use this time to either heal if needed or hit her with Vengeful Spirit, as the next attack on her causes her to immediately recover.

The best moments to heal during battle are during her Throw Attack and her Gossamer Storm Attack since both have limited range and take time to complete.

The Knight can perform a downward slash if they mistimed their jump over the Needle during the Throw Attack, allowing them to bounce off of Hornet's needle without taking damage.

Location
Hornet Protector can be fought in Greenpath.

Trivia

 * The names of her boss forms "Hornet Protector" and "Hornet Sentinel" were coined in Godmaster, prior to which she was commonly referred to as simply "Hornet 1&2".
 * Despite having an unlock text in the Hall of Gods, it is impossible to see it in-game. The Mothwing Cloth obtained from fighting Hornet in Greenpath is necessary to enter the Fungal Wastes and thus later on  Godhome.
 * If Hornet Protector is attacked with the Vengeful Spirit before the dialogue prior to the boss fight is triggered, the boss fight begins immediately, and the dialogue is skipped.

References

Protectora Hornet Hornet Protettrice Hornet Obrończyni Hornet Хорнет