Yesterday morning, I photographed the latest addition to our backyard bald-faced hornets’ nest. In the days since I’d shown you this nest, the workers had added a floor and entryway on the bottom and some eyelid-style vents on the top, transforming what had been an open, bell-shaped structure into a covered, well-ventilated sphere.
And then came yesterday afternoon’s torrential thunderstorm, which sheared off the outer layer of the nest, exposing its inner chamber.
All day today, the hornets have been working nonstop, some of them tending to the fat white larvae in their cells and others worrying over the outer edges of the nest’s papery surface, repairing it with individual mouthfuls of chewed wood fibers. It takes a while to build a paper wall if you’re moving one tiny mouthful at a time, but hornets (like bees) are tireless and resilient creatures. I have no doubt that within a week, if left undisturbed, these sister hornets will rebuild their nest as good as (or even better than) before.
Hoarded Ordinaries 
Jul 19, 2012 at 11:52 pm
Oh, dear! Lorianne, you had me thinking, even worrying, about all those hornet babies exposed to the elements and the poor creatures left homeless and frantic by their equivalent of a hurricane or a tsunami. Not sure I know how I feel about that now, having always been a bit afraid of stingers.
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Jul 20, 2012 at 11:34 am
Isn’t it amazing how compassion can sometimes surpass fear? In Robert Sullivan’s Rats, there’s a story about a handful of NYC businessmen who help extricate a rat that was trapped in a sewer grate. normally, New Yorkers hate rats…but seeing a creature in need, these men helped an animal they’d normally hate.
Living alongside these hornets is a bit similar. I’m not a big fan of stinging insects, but watching this nest is fascinating.
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Jul 20, 2012 at 2:11 am
Seems like an awful lot of work, doesn’t it? But I guess it’s no crazier than charging off to a bank or insurance office every day. 🙂
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Jul 20, 2012 at 11:35 am
I think any bank or insurance company would be THRILLED to have hornet-employees. They’ve been working nonstop, and already they’ve extended the side walls below the bottom of the previously-exposed larvae.
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Jul 20, 2012 at 10:20 am
I always find it comforting to observe a thing doing what it’s meant to do. How persistent the hornets are. How they always know what must be done. Shouldn’t it be so simple for all of us?!
Lorianne, I’m visiting your blog for the first-time, and thoroughly enjoying your peaceful and provocative reads. I am a New Englander who also loves the written word, photography and nature. And especially, Thoreau, who fused the natural world with words to create the most beautiful and thoughtful of all pictures.
I’ve lost the trail from where I stumbled, but so glad it somehow lead me here; and happy to have found your extraordinary mundane musings. 😉
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Jul 20, 2012 at 11:38 am
Thank you for the kind words: I’m glad you found your way here! There is something reassuring about seeing work done for its own sake, without complaint or question. These hornets call to mind the folks who appear to help rescue and rebuilt after natural disasters: in the face of destruction, so many helping hands appear to do whatever needs to be done.
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Jul 21, 2012 at 12:46 am
Lorianne,
I found a similar nest last winter when all the hornets had left. I found the nest an amazing structure and was struck with how intricate and beautiful the papery abode looked.
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Jul 23, 2012 at 11:46 am
Yes, I’m thinking we’ll have to “dissect” ours when the winter comes. In the meantime, the workers have repaired the storm damage so all the larvae in their cells are covered again.
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Jul 29, 2012 at 10:58 am
I many not have compassion for them but I respect them. They are pretty interesting to watch as long as you don’t get too close.
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Jul 31, 2012 at 11:01 am
So far, no stings…and the nest has survived all our recent rainstorms.
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Sep 14, 2012 at 10:18 am
[…] right up to the hornets’ shrub to watch or photograph the nest, admiring how quickly the workers repaired it after a summer thunderstorm or simply watching the workers themselves come and go, their shiny black bodies decorated with cool […]
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