It has been raining, cold and windy here, so here’s a photograph from the archives.

Do you call these wasps white-faced or bald-faced hornets? I have heard them called both. They get the name because of the white patterns on their head.

White-faced hornets are found throughout North America.

They build basketball-sized nests from a papery material they make themselves from chewed wood.

See how dusty it looks? It has pollen on it. White-faced hornets regularly visit flowers for nectar and can be pollinators. They also catch insects to feed to their larvae. I have seen white-faced hornets grab house flies that were sitting on a wall, to take back to the nest and feed to their offspring. It was amazing!

For more information and photographs:  white-faced hornets.