Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Hornet

We saw this old Paper Wasp nest on a walk in South Glenmore Park this morning. It was probably built either by a Bald/White-faced Hornet or else a Yellowjacket. It always amazes me how creatures in nature are programmed for certain skills and they all just go ahead and do it : ) Each chamber here is perfectly built and makes for a different kind of image. Though it was -3C early this morning and I had to scrape all the ice off my car windows, as you can see the sky was deep blue. I much prefer this kind of day to a warmer one with grey skies! I have to admit that I was trying to press the shutter button with an index finger that I couldn't feel. And it is only going to get worse... brrr!

It is fascinating to examine a piece of an old wasp's nest. The paper is quite tough and sometimes has coloured patches in it like this one.

Whilst the birding was slow at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary yesterday afternoon, we did see this Hornet and a Harvestman. I think these Hornets are most attractive, especially the black and white pattern on the tail end. "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 at all. 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. To be more precise, it is an aerial-nesting yellowjacket similar to Dolichovespula arenaria." From Wikipedia.