Bald Faced Hornet Nest
Dolichovespula maculata
These are not really hornets but wasps related to Yellow Jackets. But most people use hornet as a common name for these black bodied with a white face wasp.
I promised a friend I’d post the pic of a torn up hornet nest so Ratty could see the inner structure. First a couple of photos of an intact nest I found while walking in Stone Valley on Sept 8, 2008. I still had my old camera then and couldn’t get a good closeup pic. But you can almost make out the wasps.
Sept 8, 2008
Workers use chewed up wood, cardboard and paper to make the paper like covering of the nest. Inside there are layers of cells where the Queen lays her eggs that in two to three weeks will hatch into larva. While their primary food source is other insects these wasps do collect nectar to feed to their young.
Disturbing a hornet’s nest is easy, rapid air movements, blocking their flight paths and even breathing on a nest will cause the whole colony to attack. What makes them really scary is they prefer to attack a persons face. So any hornet nest too close to your personal outdoor space should be eliminated. As scary as they are, hornets are beneficial since they prey on other insects. You don’t want a nest close by but if it’s out of the way it’s good to leave it alone.
Hornets do not produce honey, they are hunters that use their stinger as a weapon. Unlike bees they do not lose their stinger and so can sting repeatedly. Hornet stings are more painful than bee stings or at least I ‘feel’ that way. A bee stinger keeps pumping out it’s venom until empty while a hornet only gives you a dose of it’s medicine although they might think you need multiple shots.
Nov 24, 2008
These wasps are like annuals. After the first freezing temperatures the colony dies. Only the young fertilized queens survive by hibernating underground or in hollow trees. The nest is abandoned and not reused. In the spring the young queens emerge and start the cycle over.
And one more pic for Ratty
Nov 25, 2008
Who said a waterfall had to be big? Yours towers over mine 
BTW: The linked image is sized 1024 x 769 to use as a desktop background.
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November 26th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
OOOH! We had a big one near the driveway a couple of years ago. I kept my distance and they were great neighbors. I’m sure they ate their weight in bad insects.
November 26th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
This is very interesting. I’ve never seen nests like this. We have two kinds of wasps, Yellow Jackets, and one we call Mud Dobbers. Both make mud nests, usually on the walls and corners of my patio! Those are hard as caliche, and have to be scraped off. I hate doing that as a little grub falls out, usually on me! The mud dobbers are two parts hooked together by a long, tiny stick like thing. The yellow jackets are more substantial. Those are the only hornet type things we have around here that I know of.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Aiyana
November 26th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
I love your waterfall! (Hate wasps)
November 26th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
I think I prefer the waterfall too. I could watch any kind of natural running water for hours. But the hornet’s nest was great too. Even though they’re so dangerous, just think of the organization it takes to build a nest like that. Every year there is at least one new nest out in my shed, and each one is bigger than the last. My sister told me that oven cleaner will melt them right away, but I haven’t had a chance to try it yet. It makes me feel almost sorry for them until I think of all the stings.
November 27th, 2008 at 7:35 am
Hi Wiseacre,
As always great photos even with the “old” camera. I love it when people say “oh you must have a good camera, look at the nice photos?” Ya, and you must have good cooking dishes, look at the good food!
Anyhoooo — wishing you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving — enjoy, pig out and count your blessings, I sure count mine. Enjoy my friend…snow and all!