Stinging Hornets

LEARNING CENTER

1/2 in.

Yellow with dark brown or black markings

Head, thorax, and abdomen with a stinger.

Hornets are social insects, living in colonies. Queens in the colony lay eggs in the spring, building a paper comb around each individual egg. Eventually these larvae hatch into worker hornets, whose purpose is to find food, build the nest, and protect newly-hatched young. A nest may contain upwards of 500-700 workers at any given time. Males in the nest will fertilize new female queens, who then leave the nest that fall to begin new colonies.

Hornets build large paper nests constructed from saliva and wood pulp that often are found hanging from tree limbs, shrubs, or eaves/rafters of buildings. Nests can sometimes grow up to 2 feet in length, depending on the size of the colony. Hornets are extremely aggressive and will attack any intruder that comes near the nest.

Spring / Summer / Fall

As noted, hornets are extremely aggressive and will sting any human or animal that gets too close to the nest. For this reason, a pest control professional should always be consulted if a hornet’s nest is spotted near your home.