Bald Faced Hornet: Queen and nest eliminated

bugman

June 11th, 2008 at 12:00 am

Tags

Bald-Faced Hornet – Early stages of nest development + larva
Hello,
First of all…love the site. I used it to figure out what I had after I captured it. Turns out, I probably should have been a bit more cautious. Anyway, a pair (it appears it was a new nest) of bald-faced hornets were building a nest in my Azalea bush. I spent the morning trying to capture a few good shots. Since I couldn’t allow them to build the nest, I had to destroy them. I did take the opportunity to dissect the nest after I knew the adult was dead (the other one is still out there). I found larva in various stages of development and still very alive. I snapped several photos and thought they might be useful on your site.
Best Regards,
The Jobe Family

Dear Jobe Family,
While we understand that if you have young children playing in your yard, you might not want to risk them accidentally disturbing a Hornet’s Nest and getting stung, the Bald Faced Hornet is not an aggressive species unless its nest is threatened. Please understand that we understand you probably have extenuating circumstances necessitating the nest removal, but we still need to file your letter under Unnecessary Carnage. Though the demise of the Queen Bald Faced Hornet and her brood saddens us, we are very happy to have the excellent documentation you have provided. “Madder than a Hornet’s Nest” has become a metaphorical term for a good reason, but having a nest of Hornets in a garden is an excellent way to organically control grasshoppers, caterpillars and other insects that are feeding on your plants.

Update: (06/29/2008)
Daniel,
That’s unfortunate that it’s going to be categorized that way. It was in a bad spot (by our front door in the Azalea bush) so I really didn’t want to risk it growing large with my 3 children around. I do go to extremes to try an organically control the bug population for our garden and home. I do this by introducing praying mantis egg cases around our home to provide natural remedies. Anyway, still love the site. Best Regards,
Scott Jobe

Hi Again Scott,
We fully understand the extenuating circumstances of your situation (front door, three children) and this nest removal was justifiable, but we would be remiss if we did not mention to our readership that they do not need to remove a Hornet’s Nest from the backyard. Knowing where a nest has been places and respecting the inhabitants results in peaceful coexistance. Disturbing the nest results in painful stings. If it is any consolation to you, your letter is also archived on Wasps 5.