Hornet nest - European Hornet lifecycle and behaviour
The European Hornet (Vespa crabro)
is much bigger than the common or German wasp.
Although considered much more aggressive than the common or German wasp, in our experience this is not the case. They only tend to become aggressive when defending their nests. But care should be taken when in close proximity to Hornets as their sting is especially powerful, but a Hornet nest is easily treatable.
The Hornet nest starts life in the spring by a queen, the location of
the nest varies but most times will be located in a place that is dry
and undisturbed, loft spaces are particularly good places for a Hornets.
The nest is constructed from chewed wood and turned into a strong Paper
Mache type material that is both strong and light.
Video of a queen Hornet starting to build a nest.
We are pleased to be able bring you some new videos this summer to show you how a queen Hornet starts her nest and how the nest develops over the beginning of the summer.
The first video shows how a queen Hornet builds her nest, this particular nest is very early in development.
(Please check back soon to view the next installment as the eggs hatch into grubs and the queen Hornet starts to feed them)
The nest begins with up too 50 cells that are arranged in horizontal layers called combs.
After the eggs are laid it takes between 5-8 days before they hatch when the larvae undergo five stages over the next two weeks. During this period the queen Hornet feeds the larvae protein rich food that consists of insects. After this period the larvae spins a silk cap over its cell opening and over the next two weeks its transforms into an adult Hornet worker.
In the following photo, you can see one of the larvae has spun its silk
cap. If you look closely you can see the other larvae in their combs.
Once the newly formed adults have hatched they take over the tasks that the queen was carrying out, such as nest building, foraging for food and brood care. They only task that the worker Hornets don’t carry out is egg laying which is a task reserved only for the queen.
As the numbers of Hornets expand in a nest, the nest itself has to grow
in size to accommodate the colony, new combs are added to the nest at
the same time.
In late summer the queen starts to produce
reproductive females and males. The male Hornets do not take part in nest
building or maintenance, foraging for food or any of the normal duties
that the worker Hornets undertake.
In autumn these males and females (new queens) leave the nest to mate,
the males then die off and the fertilized new queens then hibernate over
winter, emerging in spring to start the whole process off again building
their own brand new nest.
We charge a flat fee of £40.00 to treat a Wasp or Hornet
nest regardless of it's location.
We have no
hidden extra charges such as VAT or for unnecessary surveys.
Any secondary nests found on your property we charge an additional
£10.00 per nest.
All work is guaranteed.
We work WEEKENDS too! So if you have found a nest whilst out
in your garden and it's a Saturday or Sunday, don't worry, just give
us a call and we will come straight out.