Bald-faced Hornets (Dolichovespula maculata) are a species of wasp, named for the white ("bald") markings on their heads. Known for their large, hanging paper nests, most of these insects have a relatively short life – no longer than the span of a summer. Four to seven hundred hornets, mostly female workers in addition to one queen, occupy the nest all summer.
Come late summer/early fall the sole egg-laying queen begins to lay eggs that become drones (males) and new queens. When mature, these fertile males and queens fly off to mate. The drones and the female workers in the nest then die; the old queen, if not killed by workers, dies with them around mid-autumn. The fertilized young queens hibernate over winter in rotting logs, under bark and in crevices, and start new colonies in the spring of the following year. A recent exploration of a rotting log revealed that bald-faced hornet queens are not active yet, but soon will be. (Photo: Bald-faced Hornet queen)
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