This week, check out the Bald-faced Hornet nest in the tree in Parking Circle C on the Medford Campus. Now that the leaves have dropped, the nest is easily visible. When spring arrives, the Bald-faced Hornet queen collects wood fiber to make her nest. Some of the fiber can come from a house or fence. The gray paper nest, which houses the social colony, is suspended from a tree branch. The nest in Parking Circle C is the size of a football.
As winter approaches, the wasps die, except the freshly fertilized queens. These hibernate underground, under logs or in hollow trees until spring. The nest is generally abandoned by winter, and will not be reused.
Webmaster's note: On the Barton Arboeretum's page about Tours there is a photo of a high school student holding up a nest which had fallen to the ground. http://bartonarboretum.org/ArboretumTours.htm
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