KRISTEN'S BALD-FACE HORNET'S NEST!!

We had a unique opportunity to see a cross section of a hornet's nest at the home of a fellow homeschooler (Kristen). When they left for a vacation, the nest was only about the size of a baseball. When they returned home, it had grown to this size! That is a quarter taped to the window to give it some perspective.As you can see, the hornets are building the nest right on the window, so it is possible to see what is going on inside! You can see the larvae at towards the top of the nest wriggling around.

If you look closely at the top of the nest in this picture, you can see some white dots. Those are the larvae. You can also see the different colors in the nest. If you were able to see Kristen's wooden fence, you can see exactly the same colors! These hornets chew off pieces of wood, make a pulp, and add it to the nest. We could actually see the workers adding on more pulp to the nest, and others tending to the larvae inside! This was so AMAZING!

Thank you, Kristen, for sharing this with us!