Hornets

Baldfaced Hornet: This large black and white species builds the familiar large, grayish, pear-shaped nest that typically is suspended in trees or on sides of buildings. The thick paper envelope encloses two or four horizontally arranged combs. Late summer colonies may be quite large, consisting of nearly a thousand workers. Most nests should be left alone, however, if warranted, control is best left to a professional pest control operator. Protective gear and quick, efficient insecticide application is imperative. Bald-faced hornets are extremely protective of their nests and will sting repeatedly if disturbed.

Do hornets die after stinging?
Individual hornets can sting repeatedly; unlike honey bees, hornets and wasps do not die after stinging because their stingers are very finely barbed (only visible under high magnification) and can easily be withdrawn and so are not pulled out of their bodies when disengaging.

What do you do for a bald faced hornet sting?
Bald–faced hornets are aggressive and have no problem attacking. If you are stung, first make sure to remove the stinger if it is still stuck in the affected area with a tweezer. Do not squeeze the stinger, as it can inject more venom. Next, ice the area.

Every year young queens that were born and fertilized the previous year start a new colony and raise their young. The workers expand the nest by chewing up wood that mixes with a starch in their saliva which they spread with their mandibles and legs to dry into paper. The workers also guard the nest and collect nectar and arthropods to feed the larvae. This continues through summer and into fall. As winter approaches, the wasps die except for young fertilized queens which hibernate underground or in hollow trees. The nest is generally abandoned by winter and will most likely not be reused. When spring arrives the young queens emerge, and the cycle begins again. Bald-faced hornets visit flowers especially in late summer and can be minor pollinators.

Like other social wasps, Bald-faced Hornets have a caste system made up of the following:
Queens — Fertile females which begin the colonies and lay eggs
Workers — Infertile females which have stingers and do the manual labor
Drones — Fertile males which have no stingers, fertilize the eggs, yet are born from unfertilized eggs.

Bald-faced Hornets also go through a metamorphosis that consists of 4 stages:
Egg
Larva
Pupa
Imago or Adult

Appearance
The baldface hornet has a handsome, unique white and black design which is different from the usual yellow and black colors the majority of wasps have. It is larger than most wasps.

Contact Christopher Pest Control today to take care of your hornet problem!