bald-faced hornet

(Dolichovespula maculata)

Conservation Status
bald-faced hornet
Photo by Babette Kis
  IUCN Red List

not listed

 
  NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

 
  Minnesota

not listed

 
           
           
           
           
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Black with white markings on the head, the thorax, the last few segments of the abdomen, and first antennal segment. Wings smokey.

The nest is made of a gray-tan wood pulp and is in the shape of an inverted tear drop with an opening near the bottom. It is often found hanging high in a tree, but may be in a bush or other protected place.

 
     
 

Size

 
 

 

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Forest edges

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Season

 
 

Spring to late fall

 
     
 

Behavior

 
 

 

 
     
 

Life Cycle

 
 

 

 
     
 

Larva Food

 
 

Pre-chewed insects

 
     
 

Adult Food

 
 

Flower nectar, fruit, and possibly other insects

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

7, 24, 29, 30.

 
  3/14/2022      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Common

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
 

Order

Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies)  
 

Suborder

Apocrita (narrow-waisted wasps, ants, and bees)  
 

Infraorder

Aculeata (ants, bees, and stinging wasps)  
 

Superfamily

Vespoidea (vespoid wasps)  
 

Family

Vespidae (hornets, paper wasps, potter wasps, and allies)  
 

Subfamily

Vespinae (hornets and yellowjackets)  
 

Genus

Dolichovespula (aerial yellowjackets)  
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Vespula maculata

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

bald-faced aerial yellowjacket

bald-faced hornet

baldfaced hornet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s in a Name?

Though commonly called a hornet this is actually a yellowjacket.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Visitor Photos
 
           
 

Share your photo of this insect.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption.
 
 

Alfredo Colon

 
    bald-faced hornet      
           
    bald-faced hornet   bald-faced hornet  
           
    bald-faced hornet   bald-faced hornet  
           
    bald-faced hornet   bald-faced hornet  
           
    bald-faced hornet   bald-faced hornet  
 

Babette Kis

 
 

Dolichovespula maculata bald-faced hornet

I was out today at Barnes Prairie, and got a few pictures of this handsome aerial yellowjacket.

Dolichovespula maculata, bald-faced hornet, on rigid goldenrod Oligoneuron rigidum, formerly known as Solidago rigida, Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI October 11, 2022.

  bald-faced hornet  
           
    bald-faced hornet   bald-faced hornet  
           
    bald-faced hornet      
 

Kirk Nelson

 
    bald-faced hornet      
           
    bald-faced hornet   bald-faced hornet  
           
 

In this photo, a hornet is sitting just inside the entrance

 
    bald-faced hornet nest      
 

Guinness

 
  I have never seen this hornet around the area before. I have been here 18 years. I found the nest after researching a dead hornet by the door light at night. Have seen them mostly at dark by the door light.   bald-faced hornet  
 

Judy

 
  It is attached to the underside of the gutter on the house - I can watch them work from the upstairs window! I would like to find someone to claim the nest this fall, since it is quite beautiful!   bald-faced hornet  
 

A.E.

 
 

First time in my 20+ years here that I’ve seen these.

 
    bald-faced hornet      
 

Sandy A.

 
 

Large, beautiful and scary nest found in the corner of our garage door.

 
    bald-faced hornet      
 

Scott Bemman

 
    bald-faced hornet      
 

Chuck Ward

 
    bald-faced hornet      
 

Norm & Peg Dibble

 
  Is this a Bald Faced Hornet? I sure think they are fancy. We get a bunch of them every summer on our large Swamp Milkweed as shown in photo. I haven’t been afraid of them because they always fly away from me and are very concentrated on the blossoms. Should I avoid being near them?   bald-faced hornet nest  
           
  Hornet nest in our large Ash tree last summer   bald-faced hornet nest  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

Male

 
    bald-faced hornet nest      
           
 

Nest

 
    bald-faced hornet nest   bald-faced hornet nest  
           
    bald-faced hornet nest   bald-faced hornet nest  

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
Bald Faced Hornet
DianesDigitals
  Bald Faced Hornet  
 
About

Copyright DianesDigitals

 
Bald-faced Hornet (Dolichovespula maculata)
Andree Reno Sanborn
  Bald-faced Hornet  (Dolichovespula maculata)  

 

slideshow

       
 
Visitor Videos
 
       
 

Share your video of this insect.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link.
 
 

 

 
     
     
       
       
 
Other Videos
 
  Bald-faced Hornet (Vespidae: Dolichovespula maculata) Queen, Close-up
Carl Barrentine
 
   
 
About

Published on May 17, 2012

Photographed at the Turtle River State Park, North Dakota (16 May 2012). Thank you to 'Vespula vulgaris' (@BugGuide.net) for confirming the identity of this specimen!

 
  The Bald-Faced Hornet (Dolichovespula maculata)
AntsNational
 
   
 
About

Published on Jun 17, 2013

No description available.

 
  Bald Faced Hornet Dolichovespula maculata (Week 2)
AntsNational
 
   
 
About

Published on Jun 26, 2013

The second week after collecting the foundress queen for some footage, the queen has reached her first milestone-- her first worker! Are there more to come? Watch and see...

 
  Bald faced Hornet
PeppyShrimp1138
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Jul 7, 2009

Dolichovespula maculata is a North American insect which, despite commonly being called the bald-faced hornet (or white-faced hornet), is not a true hornet. It belongs to a genus of wasps called yellowjackets in North America, and is more distantly related to true hornets like the Asian giant hornet or European hornet, but the term "hornet" is often used colloquially to refer to any vespine with an exposed aerial nest.

The bald-faced hornet lives throughout North America, including southern Canada, the Rocky Mountains, the western coast of the United States, and most of the eastern US. They are most common in the southeastern United States. They are best known for their large football-shaped paper nest, which they build in the spring for raising their young. These nests can sometimes reach 3 feet tall. Like the median wasp Dolichovespula media in Europe, bald-faced hornets are extremely protective of their nests and will sting repeatedly if disturbed.

Every year young queens that were born and fertilized the previous year start a new colony and raise their young. The workers expand the nest by chewing up wood that mixes with a starch in their saliva, which they spread with their mandibles and legs to dry into paper. The workers also guard the nest and collect nectar and arthropods to feed the larvae. This continues through summer and into fall. As winter approaches, the wasps die, except for young fertilized queens which hibernate underground or in hollow trees. The nest is generally abandoned by winter, and will most likely not be reused. When spring arrives the young queens emerge, and the cycle begins again.

Bald-faced hornets visit flowers, especially in late summer, and can be minor pollinators.

Like other social wasps, bald-faced hornets have a caste system made up of the following:
Queens — fertile females which begin the colonies and lay eggs.
Workers — infertile females which do the manual labor.
Drones — males, which have no stingers, and are born from unfertilized eggs.Filmed with a Nikon D90 105mm AF-VR Micro Lens

 
  Bald-faced Hornet - Dolichovespula maculata
wetvideocamera
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Sep 28, 2011

Bald-faced Hornets build a football-sized or larger grey-papery nest in trees or overhanging surfaces. The females defend the nest voraciously and can sting repeatedly and painfully with little provocation. It is wisest not to approach their nests at all.

( Dolichovespula maculata ) September 28, 2011

 

 

Camcorder

 
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

Report a sighting of this insect.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Be sure to include a location.
 
  the Hiker
7/31/2023

Location: shoreline nest in waste high weeds Henderson MN.

I encountered this hornet hiking along a rivers shoreline in Henderson MN. This is the most aggressive hornet I've ever encountered.

 
  Cindy
6/16/2023

Location: Little Falls, MN. Under the barn eve.

Big and nasty! Went out of there way to chase and sting me.

 
  Babette Kis
10/11/2022

Location: Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI

I was out today at Barnes Prairie, and got a few pictures of this handsome aerial yellowjacket.

Dolichovespula maculata, bald-faced hornet, on rigid goldenrod Oligoneuron rigidum, formerly known as Solidago rigida, Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI October 11, 2022.

bald-faced hornet nest  
  Alfredo Colon
8/11/2022

Location: Albany, NY

bald-faced hornet nest  
  Alfredo Colon
8/7/2022

Location: Albany, NY

bald-faced hornet nest  
  Deb
7/25/2022

Location: Dassel Mn

 
  Kirk Nelson
12/11/2021

Location: Grey Cloud Dunes SNA

bald-faced hornet nest  
  Marcia A Hoffman
8/24/2021

Location: Blaine

lived in Blaine 21 years and first one I’ve ever seen. 

 
  VB
7/25/2021

Location: Blackduck MN

They are all around the yard this year. So far we haven't spotted the best or nests 

 
  Guinness
9/12/2020

Location: Eureka Township

I have never seen this hornet around the area before. I have been here 18 years. I found the nest after researching a dead hornet by the door light at night. Have seen them mostly at dark by the door light.

bald-faced hornet nest  
  Judy
8/28/2020

Location: Menomonie, WI

It is attached to the underside of the gutter on the house - I can watch them work from the upstairs window! I would like to find someone to claim the nest this fall, since it is quite beautiful!

bald-faced hornet nest  
  A.E.
8/21/2020

Location: Randolph, MN

First time in my 20+ years here that I’ve seen these.

bald-faced hornet nest  
  Sandy A.
7/28/2020

Location: LeGrande Township (Alexandria)

Large, beautiful and scary nest found in the corner of our garage door.

bald-faced hornet nest  
  Scott Bemman
7/26/2020

Location: Scenic State Park

bald-faced hornet nest  
  VB
7/22/2020

Location: Chaska, Minnesota

at Hummingbird feeder

   
  Tollef
7/15/2020

Location: Elizabeth Township, Ottertail County.

have never seen this type before.   Small neat under a hose reel.

 
  Becky Johnson
6/23/2020

Location: Shevlin, MN

Have nest on the outside of the house and under the wishing well.

 
  Alfredo Colon
August 2019

Location: Slinger, Wisconsin

bald-faced hornet nest  
  Alfredo Colon
8/21/2019

Location: Woodbury, MN

bald-faced hornet nest  
  Alfredo Colon
8/15/2019

Location: Woodbury, MN

bald-faced hornet nest  
  Kirk Nelson
8/4/2019

Location: Lebanon Hills Regional Park

bald-faced hornet nest  
  Carol A Amundson
8/20/2019

Location: Scandia

Never noticed them before here on the Washington/Chisago county line. Many seen daily in calf yard chasin flies. We've had 2 bad stings.

 
  Chuck Ward
8/19/2019

Location: Scandia MN

bald-faced hornet nest  
  Norm & Peg Dibble
7/15/2019

Location: Maple Grove, MN

Is this a Bald Faced Hornet? I sure think they are fancy. We get a bunch of them every summer on our large Swamp Milkweed as shown in photo. I haven’t been afraid of them because they always fly away from me and are very concentrated on the blossoms. Should I avoid being near them?

bald-faced hornet nest  
  Norm & Peg Dibble
Summer 2018

Location: Maple Grove, MN

Hornet nest in our large Ash tree last summer

bald-faced hornet nest  
  Lisa
7/17/2018

Location: Shafer, MN

currently building a nest on my house.

   
  Kirk Nelson
8/24/2014

Location: Baker Park Reserve

In this photo, a hornet is sitting just inside the entrance

bald-faced hornet nest  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
   

 

 

Binoculars


Last Updated:

About Us | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | © MinnesotaSeasons.com. All rights reserved.