We Made It Through The Summer Without Any Hornet Stings

    Here I am underneath the giant hornet’s nest that hung on the edge of our carport roof.  The hornets were busy all summer building it.  The nest hung in a rather unfortunate place because we were constantly walking back and forth under it.  Despite the possible danger, I didn’t want to destroy it, because if they didn’t bother us, I didn’t want to bother them.  It all worked out fine.  They tolerated us and didn’t cause any trouble.

    The hornets are now gone.   Male hornets develop from infertile eggs, laid by workers in the nest.  The males mate with the new queens that hatch.  In the fall the the queens leave the nest and burrow in the forest floor litter.  Only the new queens survive the winter.  They produce eggs, feed the larvae, who then emerge in the spring to build a new nest.  

    A friend told me that if you leave the old nest up, the hornets will avoid building a new nest close by, so I guess that’s what I’ll do.

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