Bald-faced Hornet Nest

Description:

This is the nest of the bald-faced hornet, a eusocial wasp of the cosmopolitan family Vespidae. Nests are layered hexagonal combs covered by a mottled gray paper envelope. Bald Faced Hornets create this paper envelope by collecting and chewing naturally occurring fibers. The fiber mixes with their saliva to become a pulpy substance that they can then form into place.

Habitat:

The bald-faced hornet lives in North America, including southern Canada, the Rocky Mountains, the western coast of the United States, and most of the eastern United States. It is most common in the southeastern United States. This nest was about 30 feet in a tree that was adjacent to a beaver pond at the Silver Bluff Audubon Center near Jackson (Aiken County), SC.

Notes:

Other common names for this hornet include white-faced hornet, white-tailed hornet, blackjacket or bull wasp.