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Pest Library
Size & Characteristics: |
Baldfaced hornet workers are about 5/8-3/4+ in (15-20+
mm) or more long; queens are 3/4+ in (20+ mm) long. Baldfaced hornets
are quite large. They build paper enclosed, gray, aerial nests. |
Color: |
Mostly black with a white pattern on most of its face, hence the
common name, "baldfaced". |
Geographic Range: |
All through the United States |
Habitat: |
Baldfaced hornets build gray, paper carton nests with many compartments,
and a papery outer covering, which may hang near ground level or very
high in trees, shrubs, vines, overhangs, sheds, utility poles. They
may be quite out in the open, or other times well hidden. When mature,
a nest may reach a diameter of 14 inches and a length of 24 inches.
A baldfaced hornet nest is not reused the following year. |
Food: |
Other insects, flower nectar |
Biology: |
Baldfaced hornets are social insects with queens that lay fertilized
eggs, workers that are sterile females, and males that come from unfertilized
eggs in late summer. Only queens overwinter. In spring a queen builds
a nest from chewed up cellulose, and lays one egg in each compartment
or cell as she builds it. She feeds the larvae protein from other
insects, and flower nectar. When the first workers emerge a month
later, they take over feeding and nest building, while she continues
to lay eggs. Eventually there will be 3-5 combs or clusters (of several
hundred cells each) which are attached one below the other. The nest
will have 100-400 workers at its most active time. Later, when the
colony is declining, larger cells are built to raise queens and males.
Newly hatched queens and males leave the nest to mate. The queen that
started this year's nest, the workers, and the males all die. Only
the new queens survive the winter by hibernation in sheltered places. |
Damage: |
Baldfaced hornets are beneficial. They eat many pest insect species.
However, a nest near a structure or close to the ground may be a nuisance
and may need to be removed. |
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